The Connecticut senator - whose wife, Jackie Marie Clegg, is a native Utahn - spoke at the State Democratic Convention at Salt Lake County's Skyline High School. Dodd is the third Democratic presidential candidate to visit Utah in six weeks.

New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson spoke to Democrats on Friday, and former vice presidential candidate John Edwards held a brief fundraiser last month. Illinois Sen. Barack Obama plans a fundraising stop in early August.

Dodd said community service is central to his campaign. "National service is an issue that has great resonance here. This is a state where a great many people go on church missions. There is an understanding of the value of service in this state."

Dodd proposes developing a variety of programs to give people of all ages and backgrounds an opportunity to aid their communities. He hopes to re-create the shared experience earlier generations developed surviving the Great Depression and World War II.

Under his proposal, high school students would be required to perform 100 hours of service and the Peace Corps and AmeriCorps would be vastly expanded. Dodd served in the Peace Corps in the Dominican Republic.

"I would use the bully pulpit of the presidency to talk about the shared experience of being an American," he said. "Campaigns can't just be about a laundry list of issues. It's got to be something deeper than that."

Referring to the spirit that led young people to join the Peace Corps, Dodd said: "There are people in this country who remember the days when you were asked to be a part of big things. It was an exciting time to be an American. It's been a long time since those things have been asked of us."

State party Chairman Wayne Holland told delegates that having four candidates stop even briefly in Utah is a historic high, which indicates not only the growing clout of the West but that the Republican grip here is finally loosening. "These are exciting times for Democrats," Holland said.

Though Dodd is considered a second-tier candidate, he said his chances will improve as the cycle of primaries and caucuses begins.

"Celebrity and money are not going to decide this race. People take offense to that," he said. "The question is starting to be asked, 'Who is prepared to do this job?' Not just how big is your war chest? As that question gets asked more and more, I get more confident that we can win these caucuses and primaries."