Baghdad Bob, meet Connecticut Chris

I was going to give Chris Dodd the rest of the month off to recuperate from surgery, but, sorry, what he said today simply can't go unnoticed.

Indeed, upon reading this all I could think of was Saddam Hussein's chief flack  "Baghdad Bob", insisting that the Americans were far from the Iraqi capital getting their butts kicked in the desert.

I attach, verbatim, the Senator's statement on health care reform from the Hartford Courant's "Capital Watch" blog

 At this historic moment, faced with an urgent crisis in our health care system but blessed with an unprecedented opportunity to fix it, we cannot let politics as usual prevent us from delivering on the promise of change,'' Dodd said in a statement.

A senior member of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, Dodd, a Democrat, was tapped by committee Chair Sen. Edward Kennedy, to help lead the committee's healthcare effort. "The Senate HELP Committee has passed a uniquely American bill, one that cuts costs, protects patient choice, and guarantees every citizen access to affordable, quality health care.  It also includes a strong public option that has earned the support of moderates in both the House and the Senate,'' Dodd said. He acknowledged winning passage will take "hard work, careful consideration of all perspectives, and a commitment to get to the finish line no matter what obstacles are thrown in our way by the cheap politics of the status quo." But Dodd offered the following prediction: "When Congress returns in September, the misinformation and anger of a hot summer will subside - and we will continue to move forward. "In fact, we will pick up exactly where we left off.  There will be a good bill on the floor.  There will be a spirited debate with ample opportunity for all ideas and perspectives to be heard.  But we will get this done.  And we will pass comprehensive reform this year." 

Chris, about those "moderates" backing the Public Option Bill .....mind telling us who they are?

This seems to be a bit more representative of reality, Chris

When a questioner, Ray Evans, said he believed the President wants to do too much at once and asked whether Boyd would "be willing to scrap everything" and start over to do pursue reform more incrementally, the congressman responded: "I think that is an excellent idea … we may end up there."

But what do we expect from Chris Dodd? This time last year he was insisting Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were "fundamentally sound".  Didn't quite work out that way, did it?  

Chris, don't worry. If the Senate thing doesn't work out for you there's plenty of work out there for propaganda ministers.