Essential Estrogen

The cold Iowa night turned warm and festive inside Cedar Rapid's Irish Democrat when Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd and a host of firefighters gathered for what seemed to be more of a party than a campaign rally.

"Great to back in the Irish Democrat," said Dodd. "Of course, that's a bit redundant."

The first time Dodd -- most definitely Irish and a Democrat -- visited the bar, he welcomed primarily undecided voters and introduced himself to those sitting at tables and on barstools. Last night, most of those gathered around the Senator were firm campaign supporters and, of course, as credit to the endorsement of the International Association of Fire Fighters, many of them wore yellow shirts touting both Dodd and the firefighters.

The stop was part of the campaign's 12-day "Results" bus tour across the state that will culminate on Christmas Eve. On each day of the tour, one of Dodd's major accomplishments is highlighted. Yesterday the candidate touted the Family and Medical Leave Act, which he both fought for over the course of a number of years and authored.

Dodd, who has traditionally not performed well in the polls, recently saw a surge of campaign activity when he postponed all campaign events, traveled back to Washington, and fought to keep retroactive immunity for telephone companies out of the re-authorization of the Federal Intelligence and Surveillance Act (FISA). Under threat of Dodd's filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tabled the legislation until sometime in January -- and Dodd has pledged to filibuster again if immunity remains a part of the bill brought to the floor of the Senate.

Last night Dodd commented briefly on the FISA battle and the 200 or so in attendance erupted with applause. He also asked those attending for their support and promised that he could, with their help, "be a household name" on Jan. 4.