Sen. Chris Dodd says it’s “very clear” Obama will be his party’s nominee.

(CNN) – Sen. Chris Dodd on Sunday joined the chorus of Democratic leaders downplaying the idea of a joint ticket between Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

"These are two great candidates who fought very hard, but my sense is today that that probably won't be the ticket," Dodd said on NBC's "Meet The Press."

Dodd, who abandoned his presidential bid on January 3, said he thinks it's "very clear" Obama will be his party's nominee.

Dodd expressed confidence that his party would rally around Obama, despite the lengthy primary season.

Obama campaign chief David Axelrod on Sunday predicted the process would be over soon, but avoided talk of any potential running mates.

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Dodd is an Obama supporter.

(CNN) – Sen. Chris Dodd on Thursday appeared to step back from his previous suggestion that the presidential race should end before many of the final round of primaries play out.

In an interview with CNN's John Roberts, Dodd — a supporter of Barack Obama — said he thinks the race will end when "the candidates decide they can't go any further.

"The last thing you want to do is lecture candidates to get out of the race," Dodd also said.

Those comments appear to differ from his remarks last week in an interview with the National Journal during which he argued an agreement should be worked out after the upcoming contests in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina.

"Over the next couple of weeks, as we get into April, it seems to me then, that the national leadership of this party has to stand up and reach a conclusion," Dodd said then, adding it was a forgone conclusion Obama would be the Democratic nominee.

But in the interview Thursday, Dodd continued to warn against a floor fight at the party's August convention.

“If you go [to the convention] highly divided, with eight weeks to go before national election, you will lose the national election," he said. "This matter has to be resolved in my point before we get there.

Related: Watch the full interview with Sen. Dodd

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

Leahy says he thinks Clinton should drop out.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — A pair of high-profile backers of Sen. Barack Obama
have called on his rival, Sen. Hillary Clinton, to drop out of the race for the Democratic nomination for president.

Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vermont, issued the most unvarnished statement Friday, saying Clinton "has every right, but not a very good reason, to remain a candidate for as long as she wants to."

Sen. Chris Dodd, who sought the Democratic nomination for president himself but threw his support behind Obama after dropping out of the race in January, expressed a similar sentiment Thursday.

"I mean, if a person wants to stay in the race, stay in the race," he told the National Journal, a Washington magazine. "But if you have enough people rallying behind what appears to be the likely choice, and I believe the choice is Barack Obama, … then I think you have to step up to the plate and say, enough is enough. We want this to be over with."

Larry J. Sabato, a professor of politics at the University of Virginia, said the Obama campaign was probably behind the remarks.

"Those things don't just happen," he said. "They must have gotten some encouragement from the Obama hierarchy. Senators like Leahy and Dodd can occasionally pop off, but not in a situation like this."

The Obama campaign denied responsibility for the Dodd and Leahy comments. Obama has said it is not for others to say when a candidate should get out of the race.

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Dodd wants the Democratic race to end soon.

(CNN) – Sen. Chris Dodd said Thursday a protracted Democratic presidential race would be "devastating" to the party, and argued an agreement should be worked out after the upcoming contests in Pennsylvania, Indiana, and North Carolina.

Dodd, a former presidential candidate and current backer of Barack Obama's White House bid, told the National Journal he thinks it’s a forgone conclusion Obama will be the Democratic presidential nominee, and said he thinks it's about time party leaders bring the race to a conclusion.

"We've got five more months to go before the Democratic convention at the end of August and, candidly, we cannot go five more months with the kind of daily sniping that's going on and have a candidate emerge in that convention," said the Connecticut senator.

"Over the next couple of weeks, as we get into April, it seems to me then, that the national leadership of this party has to stand up and reach a conclusion," he added.

Pennsylvania, a state where Hillary Clinton is heavily favored, is slated to vote April 22; North Carolina and Indiana head to the polls two weeks later. It remains unclear which candidates have the edge in those states.

Dodd's comments come one day after Clinton indicated she planned to stay in the race through the remaining round of primary contests. The latest votes, South Dakota's and Montana's caucuses, fall on June 3.

"I think the elections that are yet to come deserve to be held because the people from Pennsylvania to Puerto Rico to all the others that are waiting in line deserve to be heard. And I think that's part of the good," Clinton said Wednesday. Former President Bill Clinton also reiterated that sentiment, saying Wednesday, “my family’s not big on quitting.”

But Dodd said Thursday allowing the race to continue indefinitely would be "irresponsible."

"Allowing this sort of to fester over the months of June, and July and August, I think, are irresponsible," he said. "I think you have to make a decision, and hopefully the candidates will respect it and people will rally behind a nominee that, I think, emerges from these contests over the next month."

Specifically, Dodd said leaders among the Congress, governors, and at the Democratic National Committee need to work together to forge a compromise.

"It seems to me you've got to have an issue here that transcends your favorite candidate and decide whether or not the best candidate we have to win this election, to bring our country together and to get behind that choice, instead of having this sort of drip on for the next five months. That is devastating in my view," he said."

– CNN Ticker Producer Alexander Mooney

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton hit the road in Ohio, relying on campaign surrogates to stump for them on the Sunday morning talk-shows.

The television appearances come at a critical time for both candidates as next Tuesday's key primaries in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island loom on the horizon. On CNN's "Late Edition with Wolf Blitzer," Clinton supporter Rep. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, explained why he is supporting the senator from New York.

"I'm supporting Hillary Clinton because I know she knows, understands and cares about issues that affect border communities like the one I represent."

Obama surrogate Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts, also spoke to Blitzer, and defended his candidate's foreign policy experience.

"The fact is that Barack Obama comes to this race with more experience than George Bush, Ronald Reagan or Bill Clinton had in foreign policy at the national level. And the fact is that he has proven that it's his judgment that is correct," Kerry said.

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CNN=Politics Daily is The Best Political Podcast from the Best Political Team.

(CNN) — The countdown to the March 4 primaries continues as Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John McCain, and Mike Huckabee make their pitches to voters in Ohio, Texas, Rhode Island, and Vermont.

 In the latest episode of CNN=Politics Daily, Sen. Barack Obama picks up an endorsement from former rival Sen. Christopher Dodd.  Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley reports on the endorsement as well as the latest from Sen. Clinton.

John McCain ended up in the awkward situation of having to distance himself from comments made by a supporter who introduced him at a campaign event Tuesday.  Chief National Correspondent John King was there and reports on the supporter's controversial comments and McCain's response.

The recent release of three new national polls shows how the Democratic nomination race has changed since voting began in Iowa at the beginning the year.  Senior Political Analyst Bill Schneider reports on the new data — viewed together as a poll of polls — and the issues driving voters' views and preferences.

Finally, Howard Kurtz, the host of CNN's Reliable Sources, reports on the media's coverage of Sen. Obama.

Click here to subscribe to CNN=Politics Daily.

–CNN Associate Producer Martina Stewart

CLEVELAND, Ohio (CNN) — Former presidential candidate and Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd endorsed the candidacy of Barack Obama today with a call for the party "to come together," warning Democrats were in "danger" of damaging the party with a divisive campaign.

At a Cleveland press conference with Obama, Dodd denied he was implying Sen. Hillary Clinton should drop out, but merely suggesting that both campaigns watch their tone over the next week leading up to the critical Ohio and Texas contests.

Dodd said he informed Clinton last night of his decision to endorse Obama, adding that it was "not a comfortable" discussion.

– CNN Senior Political Correspondent Candy Crowley

Dodd will reportedly drop out of the race.

A senior campaign aide tells CNN that Sen. Chris Dodd is abandoning his campaign for president — an official announcement is expected shortly.

Dodd had some sharp words for Clinton Friday.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) – Hillary Clinton may tout her 35 years of experience as the principal reason to vote for her, but Chris Dodd says counting her eight years in the White House as First Lady as a qualification “is an exaggeration, in my view. That’s not experience, that’s witnessing experience.”

At the launch of his “Caucus For Results” bus tour, the Connecticut senator told a crowd at his Iowa campaign headquarters that “it’s not just enough sitting on the sidelines and watching your husband deal with problems over the years,” to argue that his 26 years in the Senate are better suited to bring people together and deal with unexpected events like the assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.

Dodd said the New York senator’s claim that her time as First Lady was experience would be like his wife Jackie taking credit for his Family Medical Leave Act, adding, “The experience of having witnessed history is not the same as having helped create it.”

Chris Dodd took a break from the campaign trail Christmas Day.

WASHINGTON (CNN) – None of the presidential hopefuls had official events on Christmas Day, but Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd appeared in public to go ice skating with his family.

Sen. Dodd has moved his entire family to Iowa as he campaigns in the key early state.

(CNN) — The 2008 presidential candidates have taken a day or two off from campaigning in Iowa in recognition of the Christmas holiday. But, not Sen. Christopher Dodd, D-Connecticut. Dodd doesn't have to leave Iowa for the holiday because he relocated his wife and two daughters to the Hawkeye State earlier this year.

Dodd is the only White House hopeful to have a campaign event scheduled for Monday.  The senator plans to assemble care packages for Iowa National Guardsmen deployed overseas at an event in Carroll, Iowa. 

Watch Jessica Yellin's report about the Dodd family's planned Christmas holiday in the Iowa.

Related video: Dodd: I won't say no to VP

(CNN) — Hillary Clinton, who has made experience a major theme of her campaign, has spent the past few weeks sparring with rival Barack Obama over just how much of it a future president needs. Now, Chris Dodd is weighing in on the debate with a new TV spot that reminds Iowans he has spent more time in Washington than both of them put together.

“Some people say I have too much experience to run for president,” Dodd says with a smile in the 30-second spot, already airing on Iowa television. “The more you hear my opponents, the more you wonder whether they have enough.”

Dodd also takes on Barack Obama’s campaign theme of unifying the nation, telling viewers that “I’ve spent my life bringing Democrats and Republicans together to create real change. I know I can win the general election. And I am ready to be president.”

“I’m Chris Dodd and I’d appreciate your support on caucus night. I approved this message because I believe it’s time America had a president with the experience to lead.”

The Dodd campaign says they’ve made a “major buy” on Iowa stations, and that the ad will run through January 3, caucus night.

–CNN's Rebecca Sinderbrand

Dodd left Iowa for Capitol Hill Monday.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — With just weeks until the pivotal Iowa caucuses, presidential candidate and Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd has abandoned the Hawkeye State to lead a filibuster against a controversial measure that would give special legal protections to the telecom industry.

“Given the choice of having to cancel a bunch of meetings in Iowa or being at [the Capitol], obviously politically with 14 or 15 days to go you don’t have to have a Ph.D. in political science to know where you’d rather be,” he told reporters Monday.

Dodd, who is registering in the low single digits in Iowa, received a major fundraising boost two months ago when he first announced his intention to filibuster the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act.

The Connecticut Democrat has criticized the proposed renewal of government spying powers, insisting it gives too much power to secret agencies and lets large telecommunications firms off the hook for handing over reams of private data on American phone calls and e-mails.

Under the measure being considered this week, telecom firms would be given legal immunity from invasion of privacy lawsuits that result from the release of this information to government officials.

“Why not your medical records the next time? Why not your financial records the next time?” Dodd asked in a fiery Capitol news conference. “When do you put your foot down? When do you say enough is enough?”

For now, Dodd is in the minority on the issue. The bill he opposes easily cleared a procedural hurdle on Monday.

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WASHINGTON (CNN) — Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd said Friday he will follow through on threats to filibuster the FISA bill next week – and the Democratic contender is calling on three of his fellow presidential candidates to come back to Capitol Hill to support him, as promised.

Dodd announced in October that he would oppose the measure over a provision that contained legal protection for the telecom industry from lawsuits over invasion of privacy if they allow the government access to individuals’ phone records.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced on the Senate floor Friday that the FISA renewal bill, which contains the controversial immunity provision, will be taken up this Monday.

Dodd’s campaign immediately sent out an e-mail message to supporters in which they called on the other senators in the presidential hunt — Hillary Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois, and Joe Biden of Delaware – to leave Iowa behind to support Dodd’s filibuster effort, as they’d promised to do.

“Remember when this all started playing out? A lot of people rushed to send out strongly worded press releases about how committed they were to "supporting a filibuster."

They'll have a chance to show they are true to their word,” said Dodd staffer Tim Tagaris.

“Call or email the Senators that pledged their opposition to this bill to support the Dodd Amendment and a filibuster if necessary. And ask them to be there with Dodd when it counts.”

Biden, Clinton and Obama are all currently scheduled to be on the trail Monday, with less than three weeks to go until the Iowa’s first-in-the-nation caucuses.

– CNN’s Rebecca Sinderbrand

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid may put some of the Democratic presidential candidates in awkward spot this weekend.

The Nevada Democrat told reporters Thursday he will schedule a Senate vote on the Energy Bill this Saturday. The bill, which calls for a fuel economy standard of 35 miles per gallon by the year 2020, passed the House earlier Thursday by a vote of 235-181.

But the vote is expected to be considerably tighter in the Senate, where Republicans have threatened to filibuster the measure and Reid may need to muster at least 60 votes to block that action. To that end, Reid said he has asked the four Senate Democrats running for president – Joe Biden of Delaware, Hillary Clinton of New York, Barack Obama of Illinois and Chris Dodd of Connecticut – to head back to Capitol Hill Saturday.

But with less than a month to go until the Iowa caucuses – and no clear frontrunner – Reid may have hard time getting the candidates back inside the Beltway.

Obama especially will have a difficult time making the trip to Washington. He and talk-show host Oprah Winfrey are set to make a highly anticipated tour through the Hawkeye State Saturday before heading to South Carolina together on Sunday.

The Senate offices of two of the presidential candidates say they have been told a Saturday vote is only a possibility. So far, none have said they plan to return to Washington that day.

– CNN Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin contributed to this report

Clinton was unable to travel into Iowa on Saturday for a pair of events with her fellow Democratic rivals.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN)–An audience of progressive activists booed Senator Hillary Clinton today during an exchange on immigration reform. At the Heartland Community Values Forum in Des Moines, Iowa, Clinton was asked whether “giv(ing) undocumented immigrants a path to citizenship” would be a priority in her first hundred days as President. Clinton told the audience "comprehensive immigration reform will be a high priority for me.” That response elicited boos - and no applause.

Asked again whether she’d take up the issue in her first hundred days she said,“Well you’ve got to get the Congress to pass the legislation in order for the President to do as much as possible, which I will do.” That was met by still more loud boos.

Clinton was taking part in the Forum by telephone — she had been grounded in New Hampshire after her last minute trip there Friday night. The event’s moderator told CNN she believes Clinton was hurt by her distance, more than the substance of her answer. “She gave a boilerplate response, when the audience wanted a conversation, a dialogue,” says Cathy Hughes, the moderator and Chairperson of Radio One and TV One. “She didn’t have a feel for the room. One of the advantages of being here in person you can feel the emotional energy.” After one of speakers attending the Forum told an emotional personal story, a voice that sounded like Clinton's could be heard saying “Can you hear me?”

Comments by John Edwards, Dennis Kucinich, Chris Dodd and Barack Obama - who were present -were received with loud applause.

-CNN Congressional Correspondent Jessica Yellin

CNN released a poll Tuesday about the Democratic presidential race in the Granite State.

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton's lead among Democratic presidential contenders in New Hampshire has narrowed over the past two months, while New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson bounced back to the low double digits in a CNN/WMUR poll released Tuesday.

With about two months left before the New Hampshire primaries, Clinton topped the list of Democratic nominees with 36 percent support — down from 43 percent in a September survey. But nearly 70 percent of those polled believe the New York senator will eventually become the party's presidential nominee.

Sen. Barack Obama placed second at 22 percent, while former Sen. John Edwards drew 13 percent — little changed from September, when Obama rated 20 percent support and Edwards, 12.

But Richardson saw his support recover from a September dip, bouncing back to 12 percent from 6 percent. CNN/WMUR polls in June and July put the former U.N. ambassador and energy secretary at 11 percent.

Pollsters quizzed 389 likely Democratic voters for the survey, which was conducted Wednesday through Sunday by the University of New Hampshire. The poll has a sampling error of 5 percentage points.

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Sen. Dodd suggested that true democracy in the Middle East may not be in the interests of the United States.

(CNN) – Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Connecticut, warned that jihadists could win the majority of votes in free elections in a number of countries.

"Be careful what you wish for," Dodd told the audience at Thursday's CNN Democratic debate. "If there were totally free elections, in many of the countries we're talking about today, the Islamic Jihad or the Islamic Brotherhood would win 85 percent of the vote."

Dodd also told the audience that national security outweighs human rights in priorities for the president.

– CNN Political Producer Xuan Thai

Chris Dodd's campaign initiated the pledge that prevents campaign staff and out-of-state volunteers from caucusing.

DES MOINES, Iowa (CNN) –Democratic presidential candidate Chris Dodd's Iowa campaign announced today that with the addition of Illinois Sen. Barack Obama's campaign on Wednesday all the Democratic campaign offices in Iowa–except New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's–have signed on to a pledge asking the campaigns to prohibit their staff or out-of-state volunteers from caucusing.

Dodd's campaign said the point of the letter was to prevent campaigns from registering large amounts of staff — many of whom arrived in the state only months ago — from influencing the results of the caucus.

In a statement, the senator from Connecticut's Iowa state director Julie Andreeff Jensen said, “It’s still confusing and disappointing that the Richardson campaign has refused to join every other campaign in making this commitment. It’s troubling that I am forced to conclude that they are in fact intending to use paid staff to influence precinct caucuses.”

The Richardson campaign first refused to sign the pledge the same day it was created. State caucus director Shari Fitzgerald–a lifelong Iowan, according to the campaign–said, "I have participated in every Presidential caucus since 1972 and refuse to be bound not to caucus for the candidate of my choice by any candidate or their campaign–ever."

-CNN Iowa Producer Chris Welch

Sen. Clinton has a commanding lead over other Democrats according to a CNN poll released Wednesday

WASHINGTON (CNN) — Sen. Hillary Clinton has a large lead over her rivals among Nevada Democratic caucus goers, according to a new CNN/Opinion Research Corporation poll released Wednesday.

The New York Democrat is the top pick of over half, 51 percent, of the likely caucus participants interviewed for the poll. Her closest rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, was the choice of 23 percent. Former Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina came in at 11 percent.

All other candidates came in at single digits: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, 5 percent; Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware, 4 percent; former Sen. Mike Gravel at 1 percent and Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich at 1 percent.

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Programming note: Watch CNN's Democratic presidential debate live from Las Vegas on Thursday at 8 p.m. Eastern time.

Related: Analysis: Las Vegas has become a political boomtown 

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