Democratic Sen. Chris Dodd showed true seriousness of purpose this morning by announcing his candidacy for president on the Don Imus show. After Dodd made his pitch, Imus brought up the fact that he, Imus, is still angry at Dodd for Dodd’s abandonment of fellow Connecticut Sen. Joseph Lieberman, when Lieberman lost in the Democratic primary and ran as an “independent Democrat.” From the transcript:

IMUS: I still got to get by the fact that [you] screwed Joe. You know, I’m still sore about that. So how do I get by that?
DODD: I’m sure you can. Joe and I are getting by it so I’m sure you can too.
IMUS: I’ve urged Joe not to get by it. I’ve urged Joe to get even with you.
DODD: No, no, listen, Joe and I talk — we talked yesterday. In fact, I talked to all the other candidates, I reached them, the people who are thinking of running or who have already declared and let them know what I was going to do.
I know that’s sort of old-fashioned, but I believe in courtesies and calling people so they don’t get blindsided by news. And when I talked to Joe, listen, I remember 2000, I worked with him, I nominated him to be vice president, I was his honorary chairman to be president of the United States when he was running himself in 2004 and we have got a good, strong relationship.
Obviously last summer and fall was a very awkward time for both of us to put it mildly. But we’re working on that, we’re bringing it back. I was honored to walk him down the aisle if you will in the Senate the other day when he was sworn in again for a new term in the Senate and that relationship is strong and will survive what happened last summer and fall.
IMUS: Well, I can’t believe it. I mean, how did you have the nerve — maybe you would be a good president because if you’ve got the guts to do that, after what you did to him to walk him down the aisle. You are unbelievable, Senator Dodd.
DODD: Let’s move on.