FLASH: Obama Loves Dodd!

From The Hill:
President Obama went out of his way to praise embattled Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) Friday while signing major credit card reform legislation at a Rose Garden ceremony.
Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is a co-author of the credit card legislation but faces a tough 2010 reelection campaign along with charges he has been too cozy with financial institutions.
President Obama went out of his way to praise embattled Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) Friday while signing major credit card reform legislation at a Rose Garden ceremony.
Dodd, the chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, is a co-author of the credit card legislation but faces a tough 2010 reelection campaign along with charges he has been too cozy with financial institutions.
“I want to give a special shout-out to Chris Dodd, who has been a relentless fighter to get this done," Obama said at a signing ceremony with lawmakers
“Chris wouldn't give up until he got this legislation passed. He spent an entire career fighting against special interests and fighting for ordinary people, and this is just the latest example,” Obama said.
Obama repeated the praise in an e-mail to more than 100,000 Democrats in Connecticut, who polls suggest are unhappy with Dodd. The e-mail invites recipients to send thank-you notes to Dodd, along with their mailing addresses and e-mails.
"[T]oday--thanks to the extraordinary efforts of your senator, Chris Dodd--I signed a bill that restores a sense of fairness and transparency to the credit card industry," Obama said." As Chairman of the Senate Banking Committee, Senator Dodd was the driving force behind this bill. He's the one who built the bipartisan coalition that passed this crucial reform by a huge margin--90 to 5," Obama said in the e-mail.
Dodd is running behind in polls in Connecticut. During the height of the subprime crisis, Dodd drew fire for receiving a loan under a special program at Countrywide Financial. (Dodd insisits he didn't receive favorable treatment.)
Voters are upset he uprooted his family to Iowa during a run for the presidency. More recently, he drew criticism in the controversy surrounding bonuses paid to executives of AIG, an insurance firm that has received billions in government bailouts.