In the 1980s Senator Dodd took the lead in the liberal opposition to President [[Ronald Reagan]]'s anti-Communist policy in Central America. He has long opposed the nation's embargo on the Communist [[Cuba]] of [[Fidel Castro]].
In the [[Clinton]] era Dodd served as Chairman of the [[Democratic party|Democratic National Committee]], its chief fundraiser.<ref>[http://www.ctmirror.org/story/16835/report-details-dodd%E2%80%99s-countrywide-deal Report details Dodd’s Countrywide deal], By Ana Radelat, Connecticut Mirror, July 5, 2012. Dodd was at the time Chairman of the Democratic National Committee.</ref> It was at this time while serving as Chair and on heading up the Senate Banking Committee, Dodd obtained special favors from Countrywide Mortgage lending,<ref>[http://money.cnn.com/2012/07/05/real_estate/countrywide-mortgage/index.htm Countrywide issued hundreds of VIP loans to buy influence,] By Les Christie and Rebecca Stewart, CNN, July 5, 2012.</ref> the single largest subprime mortgage lending institution in the United States and which immensely contributed to the [[Financial crisis of 2008]], the [[Recession of 2008]], and the ongoing global financial meltdown.<ref>No, George W, Bush did not do it. </ref> According to and unsourced statement in Wikipedia, Countrywide financed 20% of all mortgages in the United States, at a value of about 3.5% of United States [[GDP]].
== Ethics Issues ==