AIG Scandal May Be Last Straw for Chris Dodd's Career

HARTFORD, Conn. – Howard Rosenblatt voted for U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd five years ago. He won't do that again.

"It's time for Chris to resign," said the 62-year-old owner of Rosenblatt's department store in Naugatuck, Conn., a working-class borough of more than 30,000. "He sits on the Senate banking commission, and he had his hands on funny money loans."

Earl Reilly, a 59-year-old factory worker from Naugatuck, shares Rosenblatt's anger with the state's senior senator.

"Don't get me started on Dodd," he said. "He's been doing the job too long, and he's got a hole in his canoe and it's sinking."

While Dodd, 64, has only recently found himself in the nation's political hot seat because of his role in the AIG bonus debacle, it has become clear that his issues with voters back home have been festering for two years. The AIG controversy appears to have exacerbated his popularity problems. ....