I know it’s early, and I’m reluctant to start hanging my hopes on one candidate, but Sen. Dodd is the one guy I see being consistent and honest on most issues. He is showing leadership, not trying to play to the so-called “middle.”

Today, The Nation is blogging that Dodd is taking the lead, once again, on pushing for a restoration of constitutional rights:

Some Democrats are pushing Reid to go further, advocating more comprehensive human rights protections and a repeal of the entire Military Commissions Act. Senator Chris Dodd, the most aggressive defender of the Constitution in the presidential race, is pushing legislation that would not only restore habeas, but also ban the use of evidence obtained through torture and recommit the U.S. to the Geneva Conventions. “We must recognize that our security is enhanced by upholding our nation’s historic legal principles as we vigorously pursue terrorists,” he said in a statement today. Dodd is giving a major address about his proposal at the Cardozo School of Law Commencement exercises in New York on Thursday, part of a larger effort to prioritize Constitutional rights on the national agenda – and in the presidential campaign. The Dodd Campaign has gathered over 10,000 “citizen cosponsors” for his bill, the Restoring the Constitution Act, while using YouTube, blog and netroots outreach to rally more support.

I’ve written several posts over the last few months about how Dodd is pushing for the repeal of the Military Commissions Act. He is committed to restoring respect for habeus corpus and the Geneva Conventions, understanding that our job in the world is easier when we follow our own principles. Sometimes, especially reading the Republican debates, it seems like he’s the only guy running who cares.

It’s hard to sell the high road. It’s hard to overcome the traditional tools of the marketer, fear, uncertainty, and doubt (FUD). When a candidate is willing to step up and fight for principles even though it’s a tougher sell than FUD, that gets my attention. When he’s doing so and I agree with him on the issue, that gets my support. It’s really that simple.

There’s a startling lack of leadership in the Presidential field. Of the Republicans, only Rep. Ron Paul tried to take a non-easy position on Iraq and got smashed for it during the debate. The fact of the matter is that every other Republican candidate and many of the Democratic candidates are all hiding on these issues. These are important issues, perhaps the most important of the day, and we’re simply ignoring them.

What bothers me is that these issues of principle transcend the Iraq issue. Our ability to influence the shape of the world we’re moving into is diminished in proportion to our loss of prestige. Every time we have to buy and bully reduces our ability to lead on issues that matter to Americans. From negotiating better working conditions for workers in other countries (thus raising their wages to be more competitive with American wages) to stopping the spread of nuclear weapons, our behavior in the world has hurt our bargaining position.

So, I’m happy when candidates like Dodd are willing to speak out about these issues. We need more candidates to do this, and we need our next President to understand how to repair the damage done by President Bush. I’ve said it before, but I’m probably voting for Dodd in the primary. You should consider it, too.

Update: Forgot to credit Atrios for the pointer to the Nation post.