It’s rare to hear a politician – particularly a Dem politician - really laying out their gut feelings in the sort of take-no-prisoners language this country used to thrive on. This is especially true during campaign season when candidates are so afraid of a “Howard Dean moment” that they end up looking particularly plastic. That is why Chris Dodd taking the floor in the Senate Debate on the FISA bill is such must see TV. Check it out by clicking here.
When we originally did our round up of the Dems we said Dodd was an old-school breath of fresh air. With this speech, and his refusal to yield to Harry Reid’s wrong-headed desire to play it safe and avoid a filibuster, Dodd shows us the value of passion in action. His style of presentation – leaning slightly forward, his head moving to look right, then left like a boxer closing in on his prey trapped in the corner - makes it crystal clear that what Dodd is saying is vitally, viscerally important to him. Though his verbal pacing is measured and his words carefully chosen there is nothing cool about his demeanor. His blood is up, he is fighting mad and doesn’t care who knows it.
He is talking about an
“irreducible core value” of the Republic – the freedom from illegal search and
seizure. And "irreducible core" is one way to define a story's passion This is the sort of issue that used to bring out massive crowds for
torch lit parades.
Dodd’s passion carried the day. Reid withdrew the bill from consideration. Obama’s cool style may play well on the stump, but it was Dodd’s verbal broadsides that actually got things done. Smart Dems should take note.
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