Chris Dodd, the IAFF Firefighters Candidate for Presidency Calls it Quits

Chris Dodd, the IAFF Firefighters Candidate for Presidency Calls it Quits.

Just moments after Obama and Huckabee were announced as the Caucus winners in IOWA, Chris Dodd announced that he is calling it quits. Dodd walked away early with the IAFF backing and hoped to enjoy the same momentum that John Kerry had just 4 years ago coming out of Iowa.

Chris Dodd's nomination by the IAFF was a surprise to many as I have wrote about in the past. Many did not know who he was. When the polls showed that Clinton and Obama were leading the pack, the IAFF decided to go with Dodd. This is believed to be mostly in part by the firefighters who were at the IAFF Presidential forum in D.C. last year. The firefighters, several thousand in numbers, each filled out questionnaires about each individual candidate who spoke. The candidates included Obama, Dodd, Clinton, Biden, Richardson, Brownback, McCain, and others.

Now that Dodd is out of the picture, it will be interesting to see whose name will end up in Black and Gold.

More later, Neither Dodd's website or the IAFF website have posted anything on the matter.

Update: This was received from the Dodd Campaign tonight:

Dear Friend,

I count the past year of campaigning for the presidency as one of the most rewarding in a career of public service.

Unfortunately, I am withdrawing from that campaign tonight.

But there is no reason to hang our heads this evening -- only the opportunity to look towards a continuation of the work we started last January: ending the Iraq War, restoring the Constitution, and putting a Democrat in the White House.

I know a lot of you came to this email list through a shared desire to return our nation to one that respects the rule of law, and I want to make one thing clear to all of you:

The fight to restore the Constitution and stop retroactive immunity does not end with my Presidential campaign. FISA will come back in a few weeks and my pledge to filibuster ANY bill that includes retroactive immunity remains operative.

You've been an invaluable ally in the battle, and I'll need you to stick by my side despite tonight's caucus results.

So, one more time, thank you for all of your efforts throughout the course of this entire Presidential campaign.

We made a real difference in shaping the debate, and we'll continue to do so in the coming days, weeks and years.

I'll never forget you, and what we've fought for, together, over the past year.

Chris Dodd