Chris Dodd bowing out?

The Washington Post is reporting that Senator Chris Dodd of Connecticut will not seek reelection:

Embattled Connecticut Sen. Chris Dodd (D) has scheduled a press conference at his home in Connecticut Wednesday at which he is expected to announce he will not seek re-election, according to sources familiar with his plans.



Dodd's retirement comes after months of speculation about his political future, and amid faltering polling numbers and a growing sense among the Democratic establishment that he could not win a sixth term. It also comes less than 24 hours after Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.) announced he would not seek re-election.

Michelle Malkin has been omnipresent and fearless in her scathing coverage of Chris Dodd, from her book, Culture of Corruption, to her spot-on commentary on her website.  Here's a smidgen:

Everything you need to know about false Hope and Change can be found in one picture: The image of President Obama embracing embattled Sen. Chris Dodd.



The embattled Democrat is in deep doo-doo over his Countrywide sweetheart home loan deals, corporate bailout cash, and crony associations. New revelations by Countrywide whistle-blower Robert Feinberg confirm what more and more of Sen. Dodd’s constituents in Connecticut are coming to realize: He’s a lying crapweasel. Dodd denied knowledge of the special treatment the sub-prime mortgage company had given him and Senate Budget Committee Chairman Kent Conrad on home loans. (Dodd’s were worth more than $800,000). Feinberg flatly contradicted him in secret testimony on the Hill this week.

Odds makers would probably give the advantage to veteran (20 years) attorney general Richard Blumenthal to succeed Dodd.  But if the Democrat odds were even slightly favorable, why would Dodd be bowing out?
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