Dodd Round-up, Day 1 Post "Release"

The Wall Street Journal isn't buying Dodd's little get together yesterday:

Heck, we'd all love the kind of courtesy that would have saved Mr. Dodd $75,000 over the life of the two loans he refinanced to the tune of $800,000, according to an analysis by Portfolio magazine. The savings came from rock-bottom interest rates and a free "float-down" -- the right to borrow at a lower rate if interest rates fall before you've closed on the loan.

On Monday, with interest rates -- even for non-VIPs -- near historic lows, Mr. Dodd announced that he would refinance the sweetheart loans with another lender. The rates on the two Friends of Angelo loans were 4.5% and 4.25%, so the Senator will probably end up paying a bit more than he is now. But getting out from under the original loans doesn't shed any light on the key question: Whether Mr. Dodd knew that he got the red-carpet treatment because of his central role in regulating the financial industry. That's what former Countrywide employee Robert Feinberg has claimed to us and others.

[Snip]

If, as Mr. Dodd claims, he has nothing to hide, then why is he still hiding it?

And the guys over at Capitol Watch are seeing the beginnings of a Republican response to this mess:

Anyway, groups like the NRSC only spend time and money when they think a seat might be in play. Bluer-than-blue Connecticut, which has no Republicans in Congress, suddenly is on that list.

The NRSC e-mailed two attacks on Christopher J. Dodd, a five-term Democrat up for re-election in 2010.

[snip]

The e-mails are a sign they will try to further soften up the senator, whose job approval rating has dropped below 50 percent, and hope they can convince a credible Republican what has been a hard sell for long time:

Dodd might be vulnerable.

More coverage on the Dodd debacle can be found at the Courant, ProPublica, Michelle Malkin, Instapundit and some analysis of the loans can be found at Loanzen Blog.