The Democrats are riding high right now. The biggest majority in the House that any party has seen for a long time, a filibuster proof one in the Senate and a popular president.

But there is one Democrat who has been enjoying this time so much: Connecticut senior Senate Chris Dodd. For months, Dodd has been hit hard in his hometown newspapers for a loan he received on very favorable terms for a cottage in bought in Ireland. The loan was provided Countrywide Financial, a firm that has donated thousands to Dodd’s political campaign and which is overseen by the Senate Finance Committee that Dodd chairs. Needless to say, this raises the appearance that Dodd was violating fiduciary laws.

Thus far the senator has not been charged with anything and it appears unlikely that he will. But the his image has suffered and the political damage has been done. A senior senate who has representing Connecticut for decades, Dood should be sailing to an easy reelection in 2010. But polls him to be trailing his Republican opponent Rob Simmons. Dodd could actually lose the election, which incumbent parties do badly anyway, in a telling that the Democrats are not invisible no matter their recent gains.

Dodd has been hitting back hard. Aware that his image problem portends him to be a friend of elite institutions and using his senatorial power to extract favors, Dodd has been trying to portray himself as a “fighter for the little guy.” He recently sent out an e-mail to supports claiming that “The lobbyists can’t get meetings with Chris. He won’t return their phone calls. He even yells at them during hearings. Whether they’re lobbyists for the financial industry or health care companies, Chris just isn’t giving them the time of day.”

All of that is nice talk. Those very same lobbyists in recently released campaign fundraising reports denoted 38% of the money that Dodd raised. The bulk came from the health care and financial institutions that Dodd is entrusted to regulate.

That Chris Dodd!