In response to In response to my post explaining why it should have already been common knowledge that Hillary Clinton played no role in passing the original Family Medical Leave Act, Ezra muses, "One vaguely wonders whether Ted Kennedy and Chris Dodd eventually came out for Obama out of pique at Clinton's habit of laying claim to their legislative accomplishments." It strikes me that politics at the presidential level consists, in large part, of taking credit for other people's work. The same accusation has been flung at Obama from disgruntled former Illinois state Senate colleagues who resented his celebrity status. Long-serving legislators such as Dodd and Kennedy are hyper-conscious of giving credit where credit is due, since they're accustomed to building coalitions and trading favors. At a press conference on proposed regulatory changes to the FMLA last month, Dodd apologized for what he said was over a decade of former Congresswoman Pat Schroeder's work in passing the FMLA being ignored. He told reporters that as he stood behind President Bill Clinton on stage at the bill's signing, he looked out into the audience, saw Schroeder, and immediately realized she belonged up on the dais. Dodd said he regrets it to this day. --Dana Goldstein
