Aww, Poor Chris Dodd Is Offended

No discounts for snakes

You would think a guy up to his eyebrows in ethical problems would know better than to whine about alleged unfair treatment. Then again, we're talking about Chris Dodd, the man who keeps snakes supplied in oil. Knowing Dodd, it's a good bet the snakes pay above-market rate.

Sen. Chris Dodd, the dubious Democrat from the Nutmeg State, told a recent interviewer that it was "offensive" that the media would suggest that his wife, Jackie Clegg Dodd, has potential conflicts of interest because she sits on the boards of four pharmaceutical firms.

With Sen. Ted Kennedy ailing, Dodd is the Democratic point man for upcoming health-care legislation.

Of course, this is the 21st century. Spouses of powerful pols have their own -- often quite successful -- careers.

Of course, everybody knows that Mrs. Dodd received no special consideration because of her powerful spouse -- because Sen. Dodd says so.

That's the same Chris Dodd who "just happened" to get sweetheart mortgage loans as a "Friend of [Countrywide Financial founder] Angelo [Mozilo]" -- a relationship that is the subject of a Senate Ethics Committee probe.

That's the same Dodd who "just happened" to buy out a friend's share of an Irish cottage -- for well below what should have been the appraised value.

Only after a public-interest group raised questions did the Dodds finally have the cottage re-appraised -- whereupon the property's value jumped to $660,000, from between $100,001 and $250,000 just last year.

How about that: In the midst of a worldwide recession, his vacation home doubles in value in just one year -- as property values across Ireland plunged 40 percent.

If it weren't for that protective shell of having the (D) after his name, Dodd not only would have been booted from office long ago, it's a good possibility he'd be cooling his heels in a federal penitentiary.

Instead, he'll be the point man on a potential multi-trillion dollar boondoggle we'll all be saddled with in the name of change.

Not a comforting thought.

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