Dodd reacts angrily to suggestions of wrongdoing

Well, I knew there was a reason I didn't like Dodd during the primary. Reuters reported on Friday that an ethics panel is looking into whether or not Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Christopher Dodd (D-CT) had fees waived when they received mortgages from Countrywide.

In today's feed from Reuters, Conrad flat-out denied any wrongdoing. Dodd replied with typical, Alec Baldwin-playing-a-psycho fashion, saying that it was ridiculous and how dare we imply he'd do such a thing. It's not the right reaction.

It's not the right reaction because Dodd's involvement in this scandal is potentially devastating. He's chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a lot more high profile than Conrad. The Hartford Courant (Dodd's home paper) has ran a few op-eds about the Senator's involvement, mocking his status as a preferential VIP.

The details of the scandal are somewhat unimportant. Dodd is trying to push a housing relief bill through and any perception of impropriety won't be tolerated by Republicans looking to grab an advantage as the opinion polls seem to slip away from them. Again, this isn't an academic, confusing scandal. People will be able to relate to it easily and unless this gets taken care of quickly, it could dominate the headlines in a few months. It's a very dangerous scandal for any politician to be involved in right now. With one in eleven Mortgageholders facing foreclosure or having payments past due, getting fees waived is something that will piss off a lot of people and will not take a lot of spin from Republicans to get out of hand for the Democrats.

So, Dodd just needs to come out, apologize for it looking like he got preferential treatment and not be so defensive. His housing bill is too important to let it get sidetracked; not to mention the effects this could have if it stays a story.