Dang...

I tried to give Sen. Dodd the benefit of the doubt in this discussion with Stephanie. I'd heard some of his denials and read a pretty convincing argument that this was all a right-wing character assassination of the senator. Also, the complicated ins and outs of sausage making made me want to err on the side of the Senator.

I should have known better. From the Hartford Courrant:

In an apparent change of his position, U.S. Sen. Christopher Dodd said Wednesday that he was aware of changes in legislation for a loophole that allowed highly controversial bonuses for AIG, the embattled insurance company that has received federal bailout money.

In a live interview on CNN, Dodd said, "I agreed to a modification in the legislation, reluctantly.

''Previously, Dodd had said he was not a member of the conference committee that crafted the final version of the highly complicated bill. But he had come under strong fire from Republicans and others as the person who was involved in what CNN anchor Wolf Blitzer had called a "mysterious loophole'' in the legislation.

When Blitzer asked Dodd what had changed in his understanding between Tuesday and Wednesday, Dodd replied, "Going back and reviewing it. ... I apologize if we had some confusion.''