Connecticut Democratic primary

Wow, our votes may matter.

I’m in the awkward position of liking most everyone in the race, though I worry that John Edwards is too flimsy for the job. Obama and Clinton are terrific speakers and embody something drastically different and better even if they say nothing at all.

Bill Richardson is great. I trust that whoever wins the nomination will snatch him up as the vice presidential candidate.

I can’t decide who to vote for, though, because they’re all good. Or maybe it’s just that after seven years of Bush, anyone looks terrific.

Don’t cheat on Carpenter successor

It was disturbing to see in the West Hartford News that Republican Party leader Carl Donatelli said there have been Democrats recently changing their party affiliation to Independent in anticipation of Carpenter’s resignation. The obvious implication is that the Democrats may be prepared to pick a successor to the soon-to-resign Barbara Carpenter (who really ought to step down now, however much I admire her) who isn’t really unaffiliated or a GOP loyalist.

There’s a reason the state law requires minority representation. It’s to ensure there are watchdogs in place to keep an eye on the majority.

In our town, that function is mostly gone, with one Republican switching sides and another allied with the Democrats. That leaves just one GOP councilman, Mark Sinatro, to hold a line that should have three people.

The majority councilors should see the wisdom in genuine opposition and let the Republicans pick someone to replace Carpenter. Let Donatelli and his gang provide a handful of possibilities and pick one of them. Or at least turn to someone that we can all trust to be a good Republican, not a Democratic lapdog. And I say that as a voter who generally backs the Democrats.

Why has Chris Dodd proved a dud?

Frankly, I’m surprised how badly Senator Dodd is faring on the campaign trail.

Every time I’ve run across him over the years — at least a dozen times — he’s proven to be crackerjack smart, funny, enthusiastic and right on the money about almost everything he says.

But out on the Democratic hustings, Sen. Dodd is coming up with … nothing.

Why? Well, it’s mostly that Hillary and Obama are so overwhelming that they drown out everybody else except John Edwards, who’s struggling for breath despite his high profile in 2004. There’s no room for anyone else, especially another New England liberal (Dukakis and Kerry’s campaigns might doom the region’s chances for the White House for a long time to come).

At this point, I can’t imagine that Dodd is running to win. Maybe he’s out there in hopes of becoming secretary of state, or maybe candidates can’t help thinking lightning will strike if they just stay out in the field long enough during the storm. It happens, no doubt. But most people who stay outside in a storm just wind up drenched.