This headline at The Hill is not doing the good Senator from Connecticut any favors: Dodd: I didn't know VIP meant perks.

In fairness to Dodd, his more complete explanation of his dealings with Countrywide was this:

"We knew at the time that we were being dealt with within a special section of the company," Dodd explained. "We really just assumed it was a courtesy, because we had an existing mortgage with them - two mortgages with them."

He noted that he and his wife, Jackie Clegg, were pre-existing customers with excellent credit. Clegg assumed that they were merely going to receive more attentive customer service, Dodd said.

He said he had never sought nor had any knowledge of any special rate he was getting from Countrywide.