Democrats' dissatisfaction with their party's top presidential prospects is one reason little-known candidate Christopher Dodd's campaign will be in the hunt early next year, the Connecticut senator said in Iowa Thursday.
"I think there is an unease that people are feeling about the leading choices," Dodd said in a Des Moines Register interview. "There's going to be a lot of movement over the next nine or ten months." Dodd declined to elaborate on what misgivings he believed voters had about the top Democratic candidates. Early Iowa polls and national surveys show to be New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards and Illinois Sen. Barack Obama, while Dodd lags in the back of the pack.

"My sense of it is people feel the door's open, obviously despite resources and attention," Dodd said.

Last week, Clinton, Obama and Edwards reported raising a staggering combined total of $75 million in the first quarter of the year, with Clinton edging Obama as the field's top fundraiser with her $26-million effort.

Philadelphia is set to play host to Campaign '08 when seven democratic candidates debate at Drexel University on Tuesday night.

It has been more than 30 years since Philadelphia has seen a debate between presidential candidates, but it will be the eighth time the seven leading democratic candidates seeking a shot at the White House have faced off, reported CBS station KYW-TV in Philadelphia.

During the nationally televised debate, candidates are expected to discuss various topics, including the economy, healthcare and the ongoing war in Iraq.

Early favorite Sen. Hillary Clinton will join Sens. Barack Obama, Joe Biden and Chris Dodd, former Sen. John Edwards, New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, and Rep. Dennis Kucinich onstage for the debate.

The debate starts at 9 p.m. ET on MSNBC and MSNBC.com. Drexel University will also offer a live stream on its Web site.

Presidential Candidate Would Increase Preschool Access, Number Of Teachers
Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd is planning to tell teachers in Bartlett on Thursday that he will overhaul public education, guarantee universal preschool for children from low- and middle-income families and double the number of certified teachers.

The Connecticut senator's education plan also would pay teachers an extra $25,000 for teaching in high-need schools for five years and lengthen some students' school day by one-third.

Dodd planned to unveil the ideas at the National Education Association of New Hampshire meeting Thursday morning.

Dodd also planned to use the speech to repeat his criticism of No Child Left Behind and President George W. Bush. Unlike some rivals, he talks not about abandoning the initiative but reforming it.

He sad he wants to measure student achievement over time and their improvement, not just bottom-line test scores required now.

By Jeffrey Young, thehill.com

Former Sen. John Edwards (D-N.C.) will be the first of at least nine presidential candidates to participate in a series of webcast forums on healthcare reform co-sponsored by a liberal advocacy group and a hospital lobbying organization.

Following Edwards’s appearance next Monday, candidates Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) will be among those to appear at the forums, which are being put on by Families USA and the Federation of American Hospitals.

Fellow Democratic hopefuls Sens. Joseph Biden Jr. (Del.) and Chris Dodd (Conn.), Rep. Dennis Kucinich (Ohio) and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson also are committed to appearing. Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is the only Republican besides McCain who so far has agreed to participate in a forum. The sponsors invited all of the candidates.

Edwards, Kucinich, Biden, McCain and Dodd have committed to the dates for their appearances. The others have not been scheduled.

Associated Press

Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Rodham Clinton rejoins the health care debate in earnest Monday with a plan to expand coverage. Positions of other presidential candidates:

Illinois Sen. Barack Obama: Require employers to share costs of insuring workers and ensure all children are covered. Offer coverage similar to that in plan for federal employees. Says package would cost up to $65 billion a year after unspecified savings from making system more efficient. Raise taxes to pay the cost.

Delaware Sen. Joe Biden: Expand health insurance to cover all children and to make catastrophic care available for all; look to states for ideas on moving toward universal coverage.

Last week, the Senate Rules Committee heard testimony on the Ballot Integrity Act of 2007 (S. 1487). Senators Diane Feinstein and Christopher Dodd are the bill’s chief sponsors, but Senators Biden, Boxer, Brown, Clinton, Inouye, Kennedy, Leahy, Menendez, Leahy, and Obama have also signed on. While much of the bill is taken up with voting equipment standards, a significant number of voting rights issues are also addressed. These include increased safeguards for voters from being purged, uniform requirements for training poll workers to a set of minimal standards, and equitable allocation of polling place resources. Most importantly, the bill prohibits states from restricting voter registration drives.

Voter registration drives by nongovernmental entities play a critical role in the health of our democracy. They have been effective vehicles through which eligible Americans from traditionally disenfranchised communities have become registered to vote. According to the US Census, 12 million Americans have registered to vote through a voter registration drive, accounting for 8.5 percent of all registered voters. Minority voters, in particular, rely on the voter registration drives. Fifteen percent of Blacks, 15.5 percent of Latinos and 12.5 percent of Asians registered to vote through a drive compared to 8.6 percent for White non-Hispanic voters. In fact, Blacks and Latinos are 65 percent more likely to have registered through a voter registration drive than Whites.

North Carolina Democratic Party Chair Jerry Meek issued the following statement after attending tonight’s first DNC-sanctioned Democratic presidential debate at The Citadel in Charleston, South Carolina:

“Watching the debate live from The Citadel, I was struck by our candidates’ clear vision for restoring the American dream and protecting America’s security. While their Republican counterparts seem stuck to the failed policies of the Bush administration, our candidates have signaled that each of them would forge a new direction for America.

“Tonight’s revolutionary debate format allowed real Americans to speak directly with the candidates, as part of a dialogue between our Party and the American people.”

“The choice for 2008 is clear. Voters can choose Democrats who offer real leadership, or Republicans who offer only divisiveness and failed policies.”

Yesterday Senators Chris Dodd (D-CT) and Patrick Leahy (D-VT) denounced Senator Tom Coburn's (R-OK) announcement that he would place a hold on The Emmett Till Unsolved Civil Rights Crime Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives yesterday by a vote of 422 to 2 and scheduled to be passed by unanimous consent in the Senate Thursday. Thursday marked the anniversary of the kidnapping and murder of three young civil rights workers (Andrew Goodman, James Chaney, and Michael Schwerner) in Philadelphia, Mississippi, and is also the anniversary of Edgar Ray Killen's conviction for those crimes two years ago.

Jerry Meek is Chair of the North Carolina Democratic Party.

Ok, so, I didn't know how yesterday would go. Two months ago I decided to invite some of the top progressive bloggers in the State to gather here at the State Democratic Party headquarters for a discussion. It took place yesterday. (Click here to see the agenda). And, I have to admit, not only did I find it productive and informative, I actually had a good time.