Projo Politics Blog

PROVIDENCE -- Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy said tonight he will endorse, raise money and work for the underdog campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination of Connecticut's Sen. Christopher Dodd, a veteran senator who is also close to Kennedy’s father, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts.

“Chris Dodd has a breadth of experience in both the House and the Senate,” the Rhode Island Democrat said in an interview.

Kennedy cited Dodd’s leadership on children’s education and health care issues, his foreign policy expertise and service in the Peace Corps. He also noted that Dodd is bilingual; he speaks fluent Spanish.

“He answered President Kennedy’s call to serve in the Peace Corps, in the Dominican Republic,” said Kennedy, whose uncle was the late President John F. Kennedy. “I think that being fluent in Spanish in this day and age is such a powerful asset that it cannot be overvalued.”

Kennedy said Dodd has a deep understanding of domestic programs, especially those that affect children.

“Every major piece of legislation with regard to children he has been deeply involved with,” Kennedy said. “The Head Start Association voted him the senator of the decade.”

Dodd is also familiar with military matters because his state is home to major defense contractors. Like Patrick Kennedy, Dodd is the son of a U.S. senator, the late Thomas Dodd, who once represented Connecticut.

Kennedy’s father has long been a close political ally and personal friend of Dodd’s, but Patrick Kennedy said tonight that his endorsement of Dodd should not be seen as a harbinger of his father’s intentions.

-- Journal staff writer Scott MacKay

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