CT Senator Chris Dodd is retiring--good riddance. Oh sure, he's done some good things in his lengthy career, but like so many who hold office for too long, he was corrupted by power.
He was one of the legislators who pounded his fists over the irresponsibility of bankers, despite enabling them by allowing deregulation. (Maybe collecting boatloads of money from Wall Street firms made him a bit more open to understanding their plight). He wants stricter regulatory reform, but only after he was exposed for receiving a couple of those sweet "Friends of Angelo" deals from Countrywide Mortgage. Don't we all wish we could get VIP loans like Senator Dodd?
Now the attention will shift to regulatory reform. When Dodd was trying to overcompensate for the fact that he was in bed with Wall Street, he marshaled a tough regulatory bill. Will he continue to push for something with teeth or will he think about whether it might be preferable to actually be on the official payroll of one of the big banks? Maybe Dodd should just quit now.
Image by Flickr User fuzzcat, CC 2.0