Dodd's Firewall in Iowa

Sen. Chris Dodd's quest for the White House remains the longest of shots, but tomorrow the Connecticut Democrat will bring his biggest political gun to Iowa: Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, an organization that earlier this year became Dodd's biggest backer.

Schaitberger arrives tomorrow in Council Bluffs and plans to spend eight days hitting 20 cities in a "42-foot gold-and-black RV" with "Fire Fighters for Dodd" emblazoned on the side, according to the union. The tour, says IAFF spokesman and Iowa native Bill Glanz, "will show everyone in Iowa just how hard firefighters campaign—no matter where their candidate stands in the polls." He noted that the union rallied its members in 2004 to caucus for John Kerry, who ended up winning in Iowa.

That's good news for the well-liked but low-polling Dodd, who will hook up with the bus tour in Marshalltown, Ottumwa, and Des Moines, where the effort wraps up next Thursday.

—Liz Halloran