The reason for turning down these opportunities became clear when he announced his run for the Presidency in January of 2007.

During his time as Senator, Christopher Dodd has chaired the Committee on Rules and Administration and the Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. He also served as chairman of the Democratic National Committee in 1994. He has also maintained an active link to the Peace Corps, and has lent his support to the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993, the No Child Left Behind bill, and the national Head Start program. He received the Edmund S. Muskie Distinguished Public Service Award for his foreign affairs work.

During his Senate career, he has also spoken out from time to time on various issues. These include the need to investigate civil-rights violations, the future of the Peace Corps, concern over torture, war crimes, and terrorism. Like many contenders for the Presidency in 2008, he opposes the Iraq war.

Christopher Dodd has formed a position as a highly moderate Democrat. While he has put in the expected performance of a political career, he has done little to attract sharp attention to himself and has not gone out of his way to attach himself to any particular issue nor has he done anything too controversial. He might be seen as a modern-day Calvin Coolidge, being somewhat taciturn. When interviewed about his consideration of running for President, he responded "It's an itch. Could grow. Could disappear." His pace is described as "carefully measured".

In spite of this, he has been a frequent fixture on television shows. Since 2000, he has appeared on "Late Night with Conan O'Brien", "The Daily Show", "Face the Nation", "Hardball with Chris Matthews", "Larry King Live", "The Al Franken Show", "Meet the Press", "NBC Nightly News", "The Colbert Report", and several other news shows. he has received endorsements from the Kennedy family and the International Association of Fire Fighters.

Christopher Dodd has in fact admitted that he has allowed his bid for President to lapse behind the front-runners, but expressed some optimism that he will draw support anyway due his stance on issues.