By James Caldwell, Torch assistant editor

Former WWE CEO Linda McMahon put on her best brave face when asked by reporters this morning whether she's concerned about her Senate chances following the news that Connecticut Senator Chris Dodd is dropping out of the race to be replaced by the much-more popular Richard Blumenthal.

McMahon, whose campaign message is she's an "outsider" bringing changes to politics, said her strategy of attacking Dodd as a career politician will not change now that Blumenthal is a potential opponent, even though she admitted that Blumenthal isn't considered a "career politician."

"Clearly Attorney General Blumenthal is well respected for the job he did as attorney general. But I'm not sure that he would not be viewed as another career politician," McMahon told the News Times newspaper while at a Board of Education meeting today.

McMahon added she wasn't surprised that Dodd dropped out, as she recognized Dodd was trailing in the polls and the Democratic party didn't want to lose the important Senate seat.

"I'm not totally surprised. I had doubts he would run. The poll numbers we were seeing were low," McMahon said. "So while I'm not totally surprised, it clearly does not change my strategy."

Caldwell's Analysis: Considering McMahon's statement that she had a good feeling ahead of time Dodd would drop out, I'm sure her campaign team has been working on a separate strategy to compete against Blumenthal (if she wins the Republican nomiantion vs. Rob Simmons). However, McMahon's entire campaign is based on "not being a career politician" and being an outsider who is an advocate for change in politics. With Blumenthal not being viewed as a "career politician," which McMahon even acknowledged in the interview, the impact of her campaign message has been dealt an immediate blow.

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