News From The Second Tier

When I see Chris Dodd signing on to Feingold-Reid, and when I see the President sending supporting a private effort by Bill Richardson in North Korea as part of a delegation retrieving remains of US troops from the Korean War, I see that even the second tier of Democratic candidates is far superior to the Republicans' first tier. Dodd and Richardson are serious, competent public officials. There is literally nobody that George Bush can think of who is more qualified to handle diplomatic missions abroad than Bill Richardson. If he doesn't quite make it in the Presidential race, he'll be one hell of a Secretary of State. And Chris Dodd, by signing on to something that punishes Bush for his intransigence, is helping to change the dynamic of the Iraq debate, showing that he gets where the American people are on this issue.

We have a really solid group of candidates on the Democratic side. I hope they all can get a fair hearing (though in this accelerated primary season, it's questionable).