Conn.'s Dodd drops 2010 bid

WSJ:

Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd's plans to not seek re-election could damage the Obama administration's attempts to enact a meaningful overhaul of U.S. financial markets this year.

Dodd (D., Conn.), who was facing the possibility of a tough 2010 election fight, plans to announce Wednesday he will not seek another term, The Wall Street Journal reported. The news comes the day after another key Senate Democrat, Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota, also announced he would not run for re-election this year.

Dodd's decision could throw a wrench into the Obama administration's desire to quickly move their financial regulatory package through the Senate this year. Though the House already passed its version of the measure, Senate action has been bogged down by the debate over health care and a general partisan rancor that has slowed legislative action generally.

Dodd has been attempting to work with the Senate Banking Committee's top Republican, Sen. Richard Shelby (R, Ala.), but progress thus far has been slow. A discussion draft introduced by Dodd late last year was seen as too radical by many Republicans and even some more business-friendly Democrats.

...

Dodd saw the brutal reality of the polls, just as Dorgan did. While Dorgan was probably a victim of Obama's liberal agenda, Dodd made his own mess and the liberal agenda just piled onto his difficulties. He and Barney Franks were primarily responsible for the financial collapse because of their insistence on making lenders make bad mortgage loans. Then there was the sweet heart deal he got from Countrywide that made him look even sleazier.

He will not be missed.