Christopher J. Dodd: “if I were a U.S. Senator, I would read every bill.”

Congress should pass the Homeownership Preservation and Protection Act--two things to mention there--that Senator Dodd sponsored and many Members of the Committee co-sponsored.

We need to, as a country, both parties, all of our leaders need to work together to try to reverse this image.

But we should not underestimate the value of what one average American--what the impression of one average American makes--can make on a first-time visitor to this country or a repeat visitor, for that matter.

I think we should look at our choices. We can come down to where we allocate resources and how we make choices between the issue of tax cuts for the top 1 percent of income earners versus investing in a No Child Left Behind bill.