QandO

April 09, 2004

Chris Dodd's time travel theory of leadership
Posted by Jon Henke

I haven't done so yet, but I think it's time to weigh in on the Sens. Dodd/Byrd scandalette. "Scandalette", because I don't think this rises to the level of a scandal, except among people who really like scandals. Much of the outrage seems to stem from the comparison - apt, I think - between Dodd's recent comment and Trent Lott's comment of a couple years ago. I'll try to frame this appropriately and in context, because I know my conclusion will likely be controversial to many QandO readers.

First, the offending comment.....

It has often been said that the man and the moment come together. I do not think it is an exaggeration at all to say to my friend from West Virginia that he would have been a great Senator at any moment. Some were right for the time. ROBERT C. BYRD, in my view, would have been right at any time.

He would have been right at the founding of this country. He would have been in the leadership crafting this Constitution. He would have been right during the great conflict of civil war in this Nation. He would have been right at the great moments of international threat we faced in the 20th century. I cannot think of a single moment in this Nation's 220-plus year history where he would not have been a valuable asset to this country. . . .

So, let's examine that.

The comparison to Lott's comment is appropriate. Neither were endorsements of racism...but both were praise for a Senator who, at one time, was an unabashed racist/segregationist. Both occurred in the context of a milestone in which it was appropriate to say kind words about a colleague.

The dichotemy between reaction to Lott's comment and Dodd's comment has been striking. Lott was roundly condemned by...virtually everybody. Lott went on a week-long Apology Tour 2002. Chris Dodd has....been invisible. As of this writing, Senator Dodd's website doesn't contain an apology, an explanation, or even a mention of the incident. He certainly hasn't been on BET, lately.

On that level, the criticism is valid.

However, I'd argue that this is more about "gotcha" than about a genuinely offensive statement. Look at what Dodd said. Was it racist? Only if you interpret it very narrowly. Very very narrowly.

To assume racism, one has to make the following assumptions:
- Chris Dodd was referring, not to the Senator Byrd he's worked alongside, but to the Senator Byrd of 40-50 years ago.
- Chris Dodd had Byrd's racial policies in mind, when he spoke of his "greatness".

Now, you know as well as I do that Senator Dodd wasn't referring to - or, likely, even thinking about - Senator Byrd's past racism. The criticism of many Democrats - including Dodd - rests on their behavioural dichotemy between this incident and the Lott incident. But criticism of Senator Dodd rests almost entirely on an inference on the part of the observer - not an implication on the part of the speaker.

That is a basis to demand an explanation from Dodd - and one should be forthcoming. It is not the basis for a condemnation. After all, the inference is entirely on the part of the observer. One can't ask a speaker to apologize for your own inference.

And you know what? The same thing applies to Trent Lott. Both were subject to prosecution-by-inference. To his credit, Trent Lott apologized. Honest observers should be willing to let it go if Chris Dodd does the same.

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