Democrat Richard Blumenthal now leads Republican Linda McMahon by just five points in Connecticut’s race for the U.S. Senate in a survey conducted two nights after their third and final head-to-head debate.

The latest Rasmussen Reports statewide telephone survey of Likely Voters shows Blumenthal, Connecticut’s longtime attorney general, picking up 51% of the vote. McMahon, the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, earns the vote from 46%. One percent (1%) prefer some other candidate, while three percent (3%) are undecided.

Which one is right? We’ll find out on election day… I tend to put a little more faith in the Rasmussen poll than I do in the Quinnipiac poll just because I’m not convinced Dick Blumenthal has opened up that big of a lead at this point… I suspect this is going be very close race that’s fought down to the wire. Personally, although I’m not fan I’m pulling for Linda McMahon simply because as Ann Coulter notes “If the Bush administration ever treated terrorism suspects the way Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal treats law-abiding citizens and small businesses, even conservatives would have blanched.”

Note: in the spirit of full disclosure I should mention I was one of the 750 likely voters polled by Rasmussen last night.

Previous

• NYT: Blumenthal Lied About Vietnam Service

Related

• The Other Blumenthal Scandal – Wall Street Journal

Following a New York Times report that he exaggerated his military record, Democratic Senate hopeful Richard Blumenthal has lost ground in match-ups against all his potential Republican challengers in Connecticut.

The latest Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of Likely Voters in Connecticut finds Blumenthal with just a three-point advantage over Linda McMahon, 48% to 45%. Two weeks ago, he led the former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment by 13 percentage points. The New York Times story broke late Monday; the survey was taken Tuesday evening.

When matched against former GOP Congressman Rob Simmons, Blumenthal leads by 11 – 50% to 39%. Two weeks ago, the longtime state attorney general held a 23-point lead over Simmons.

Blumenthal now leads Peter Schiff, a high-profile Wall Street investment banker, 53% to 37%. In the previous survey, he posted a 54% to 29% lead over Schiff.

Still, just 26% of voters say Blumenthal should withdraw from the Senate race. Only nine percent (9%) of Democrats hold that view.

Ouch, this is a good news bad news thing for Blumenthal and Democrats… The bad news is that his lead over McMahon has basically evaporated, the good news is he still has a lead. Normally revelations like this will destroy a political career in hours, but Blumenthal seems to have stopped or at least arrested the bleeding. I still think he’s toast, but to be honest I think the story may have broken to early for it to have any real impact in November. Time and the polls will tell whether he rebounds or continues to weaken.

Realated

• VFW leader rips Blumenthal – Politico
• Blumenthal’s Lesson – The New York Sun
• Breaking: Blumenthal’s Soldier Supporter On Stage Today Is a Phony, Too – Gateway Pundit

At a ceremony honoring veterans and senior citizens who sent presents to soldiers overseas, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut rose and spoke of an earlier time in his life.

“We have learned something important since the days that I served in Vietnam,” Mr. Blumenthal said to the group gathered in Norwalk in March 2008. “And you exemplify it. Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it — Afghanistan or Iraq — we owe our military men and women unconditional support.”

There was one problem: Mr. Blumenthal, a Democrat now running for the United States Senate, never served in Vietnam. He obtained at least five military deferments from 1965 to 1970 and took repeated steps that enabled him to avoid going to war, according to records.

The deferments allowed Mr. Blumenthal to complete his studies at Harvard; pursue a graduate fellowship in England; serve as a special assistant to The Washington Post’s publisher, Katharine Graham; and ultimately take a job in the Nixon White House.

In 1970, with his last deferment in jeopardy, he enlisted in the Marine Reserve, landing a coveted spot in a unit in Washington, which virtually guaranteed that he would not be sent to Vietnam. The unit conducted part-time drills and other exercises and focused on local projects, like fixing a campground and organizing a Toys for Tots drive.

Mr. Blumenthal’s campaign manager, Mindy Myers, called the Times article “an outrageous distortion of Dick Blumenthal’s record of service.” She noted his six years of service in the Marine Corps Reserve and said he “received no special treatment from anyone.” Ok, fine he did serve honorably in the Marine Corps Reserve for six years, but what’s this then:

Mr. Blumenthal’s words couldn’t be more clear (emphasis mine):

In fact, we are failing many of our veterans again.  We are failing them just as we did after the Vietnam War, just as we did our World War II and Korean [sic] veterans.  This nation has a way of sending young men and women to war, and then forgetting them when they come home.  And that is unforgivable.  And I know Congressmen like Chris Shays are working hard to change that situation.   We have learned something very important since the days I served in Vietnam, and you exemplify it.  Whatever we think about the war, whatever we call it, Afghanistan or Iraq, we owe our military men and women unconditional support.

He didn’t say “Since I served during the Vietnam era” he said “… since the days I served in Vietnam”. I’d be willing to cut Mr. Blumenthal a little slack if this was one off incident that could be dismissed as a slip of the tongue, but as the Times’ story makes clear, Mr. Blumenthal has long used ambiguity and omission to obscure that he served during the Vietnam era not in Vietnam.

Time will tell, but I think it’s safe to say the race to replace Sen. Chris Dodd just got a whole lot more interesting… This was Mr. Blumenthal race to lose, right now he’s attempting to argue that his repeatedly “misstating” that he served in Vietnam is not a big deal,  and for the moment at least every prominent Democrat in the state appears to be agreeing with him… the question is how will voters react and what other shoes are waiting to fall?

Personally, I think he’s toast. Actually in a sane world, where  honor and integrity still mattered, he’d resign as Attorney General and quietly withdraw from public life, even Paul Begala calls his lies “indefensible” and “a catastrophic mistake”… but then this isn’t a sane world and it appears he intends to say in the race.

Update (5:50 p.m.): Former Congressman Chris Shays, friend of Mr. Blumenthal’s interviewed by the New York Times says he “that he had watched with worry as Mr. Blumenthal gradually embellished his military record over the years.”:

Former Representative Christopher Shays of Connecticut, a Republican who says he is a good friend of Richard Blumenthal’s, said in an interview Tuesday that he had watched with worry as Mr. Blumenthal gradually embellished his military record over the years…

Mr. Shays said the change occurred gradually in statements made over time.

“More and more it kept creeping in,” he said. “And it was very different than when he first described his service. I’m not surprised, because he just kept adding to the story, the more he told it. I think what happens in a case like this, it’s a tiny increment of change, but when you haven’t heard him in years you say, that’s a big difference.”…

Mr. Shays said he grew uncomfortable only last month, when he and Mr. Blumenthal attended a memorial for survivors of a building collapse in Bridgeport in 1987, and Mr. Blumenthal again brought up the Vietnam War. “He didn’t say he was there; he said, ‘when we came home’ and talked about soldiers being spat upon,” Mr. Shays said. “The inference was that he was in Vietnam.”

To be honest I don’t think Mr. Blumenthal set out to consciously deceive anyone about his service, he did serve honorably for six years in the Marine Corps Reserve. Unfortunately, it appears over the years he gradually started to embellish his record, and through ambiguity and omission and left the impression he’d served inVietnam when he hadn’t. That’s not excuse though, Mr. Blumenthal needs to be held accountable for the statements he’s made, regardless of whether they were made inadvertently or not.

Related

• Vietnam service claimed by Conn. Senate hopeful Blumenthal is challenged – The Washington Post
• Blumenthal’s service during Vietnam era under scrutiny – News Times
• To the rescue: Dodd defends Blumenthal’s honor – Ed Morrissey, Hot Air
• Connecticut Democratic Senate Candidate Toast? – Jennifer Rubin, Contentions
• Phony Vietnam Vet In Connecticut Senate Race – This Ain’t Hell

Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, chairman of the Senate Banking Committee and a Democratic Party stalwart in the Senate, is set to announce today that he will not seek re-election this year, according to a party strategist familiar with his plans.

Sen. Dodd’s decision was the latest in a string of big-name Democratic retirements revealed Tuesday as the party struggles to contend with a challenging political climate.

Sen. Byron Dorgan of North Dakota said he, too, would retire after this year, unexpectedly saddling his fellow Democrats with a wide-open race that could be tough to win in a Republican-leaning state.

In addition to Dodd and Dorgan at least 5 other Senate Democrats are vulnerable, among them Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas.

I wouldn’t breakout the Champagne yet, at least not in Connecticut… We may finally be free of Chris Dodd, but things just got a lot tougher for us, Chris Dodd was weakened and vulnerable and ultimately beatable. Now instead of facing a weakened Sen. Dodd we’re facing Attorney General Richard Blumenthal who has announced plans to run for Dodd’s seat. Say what you want to him, but there’s escaping the fact that he’s well known and well liked in this state… My guess is the Democrats will hang on to the seat.

Of course it won’t hurt to remind voters of Blumenthal’s remarks about Sen Dodd’s sweetheart mortgage deal:

Huh??? What??? Dodd was a victim??? It’s a rarity but I’m speechless!

Related

• Colorado’s Gov. Ritter Ends Bid for Re-Election – Wall Street Journal
• Massachusetts governor race another sign of Democratic weakness – Ed Lasky, American Thinker
• Culture of Corruption casualty: Chris Dodd bows out; CT AG Blumenthal to run – Michelle Malkin
• Dodd retiring – Ed Morrissry, Hot Air
• Will Blumenthal Be Sufficient Change for Connecticut? – Jim Geraghty

The following is a letter sent on Tuesday by Jake DeSantis, an executive vice president of the American International Group’s financial products unit, to Edward M. Liddy, the chief executive of A.I.G.

DEAR Mr. Liddy,

It is with deep regret that I submit my notice of resignation from A.I.G. Financial Products. I hope you take the time to read this entire letter. Before describing the details of my decision, I want to offer some context:

I am proud of everything I have done for the commodity and equity divisions of A.I.G.-F.P. I was in no way involved in — or responsible for — the credit default swap transactions that have hamstrung A.I.G. Nor were more than a handful of the 400 current employees of A.I.G.-F.P. Most of those responsible have left the company and have conspicuously escaped the public outrage.

After 12 months of hard work dismantling the company — during which A.I.G. reassured us many times we would be rewarded in March 2009 — we in the financial products unit have been betrayed by A.I.G. and are being unfairly persecuted by elected officials. In response to this, I will now leave the company and donate my entire post-tax retention payment to those suffering from the global economic downturn. My intent is to keep none of the money myself.

I take this action after 11 years of dedicated, honorable service to A.I.G. I can no longer effectively perform my duties in this dysfunctional environment, nor am I being paid to do so. Like you, I was asked to work for an annual salary of $1, and I agreed out of a sense of duty to the company and to the public officials who have come to its aid. Having now been let down by both, I can no longer justify spending 10, 12, 14 hours a day away from my family for the benefit of those who have let me down.

In a sane world Jake DeSantis’s letter would shame those who have lead the charge to unfairly tar and feather the many good people at AIG… The sad reality is none them will even understand its significance.

Related

• Drive to Tax AIG Bonuses Slows – Wall Street Journal
• Resigned – Mark Steyn
• When they came for AIG – Powerline
• I Hope They Are Happy – Jennifer Rubin
• AIG Executive Resigns, Says Why – Red State
• Going Galt at AIG – Hot Air