Jane Hamsher and Glenn Greenwald have to phenomenally detailed and thorough posts explaining why the current “Blame Dodd” meme regarding AIG bonuses is 100% bunk (Media Matters led the way with pushback against Fox News & Drudge’s attacks on Dodd). The very short version is that the current provisions, passed in February, that exempted bonus limitations on preexisting contracts were pushed through at the behest of Geithner, Summers, and the Obama administratoin — over the objections of Senator Chris Dodd. Dodd had in fact introduced provisions that would have stopped future bonuses regardless of when they were promised.

The efforts by the media, Treasury officials and even White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs to lay the AIG bonus scandal at Dodd’s feet is disgraceful and disgusting. Dodd is up for a very tough reelection campaign in 2010. It may be politically expedient for administration officials to blame Dodd for something they did which he vehemently opposed, but it isn’t without consequence. At a time when he is politically vulnerable, his reputation is being unjustly attacked.

I don’t doubt that the administration’s top economic officials failed to grasp the political consequences of exempting existing AIG bonus schedules from TARP regulation. Clearly they now get that the optics are terrible. But trying to pass the buck to the guy that had the foresight to introduce provisions that would extend oversight and limitation to all AIG bonuses – foresight that Geithner and Summers failed to pay heed to – is the wrong path.

The sad thing is that Senator Dodd is such a loyal and collegial politician that he is unlikely to ever publicly express the anger and outrage he must be feeling now, for fear of doing damage to President Obama’s stewardship of the economy and the trust the public has in the administration’s top economic team. If only the administration were able to recognize and repay the loyalty and dedicated service of Senator Dodd in kind.