When the polls close on Election Day in November, Hillary Clinton will emerge as the winner ofthe campaign the presidency. Her victory will likely secure for theDemocrats new seats in the House and Senate. And those gains willprompt renewed bipartisan cooperation on pressing national issues,not least provisions of the Affordable Care Act that need fixing.

Former U.S. Senator Christopher Dodd made these predictionsduring a Tuesday keynote address at Benefits Selling Expo, beingheld in Fort Lauderdale April 18-20. Now Chairman and CEO of theMotion Picture Association of America, Dodd offered a wide-rangingcritique of current events and the fraught political landscape.

Amid the rancor of the current election season and Americans'pessimism about the future, Dodd said he remains "hopeful" that,come 2017, the nation's political leaders will put asidedifferences to address legislation needed to reform the immigrationsystem, taxation, Social Security, Medicare and other top national concerns.

"Historically, the country has had its share of rough times,"said Dodd. "But we've managed to emerge stronger from past crises.I remain optimistic that we can overcome domestic and internationalpolicy issues -- if we all come together."

That may seem at present a tall order. Voter anger and outrageabout the state of the nation, he noted, has been growing in recentyears. Despite economic achievements touted by the Obamaadministration, Americans have suffered since the 2007-2009recession. Many pin the blame for their woes on the financialexcesses of Wall Street, a lowering of trade barriers that haveravaged industries, market pressures that have depressed wages, andthe high cost of maintaining America's military footprintoverseas.

These factors, combined with growing disillusionment withcontinuing gridlock in Washington, help to explain higher votersupport for Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump--insurgent candidates whosepolicy positions fall outside the mainstream of their respectiveparties.

A Clinton victory in November would yield for the Democrats'nominee three consecutive terms in the White House--a first for theparty since Roosevelt-Truman era. Dodd pinned his predictionin part on continuing economic growth and President Obama's overallapproval rating, which (based on a recent Gallup poll) now standsat 51 percent.

"Over the last 9 presidential election cycles, this has beenbeen most accurate predictor of future president," said Dodd. "Inevery case where a majority of Americans approved of thepresident's performance, the incumbent's party has won."

Enhancing the Democratic Party's chances of securing the WhiteHouse are the divisions with the Republican Party. The likelihoodof an "acrimonious" GOP convention in Cleveland come July --notably a schism between Trump supporters and opponents -- couldirreparably damage the party's efforts to unite behind the nomineefor the general election. By contrast, Sanders' supporters willback Clinton if, as Dodd expects, Hillary secures the nomination atthe party's national convention in Philadelphia in July.

A White House win, he added, would likely secure for theDemocrats other seats in play in 2016. Chief among them: TheSenate, where 24 Republicans are up for re-election this year, ascompared to 10 seats for the Democrats. Given the current balanceof power--the Senate has 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats and twoindependents that consistently vote with the Democratic caucus -- anet gain by the Dems of 5 seats in November would earn for them amajority.

Turning to the Affordable Care Act, Dodd acknowledged "seriousissues" that it failed to adequately address, including rising health care costs and insurancepremiums; and a lack of coverage for millions of Americans whodidn't benefit from the reform law. He insisted that the rightapproach is to fix specific issues with the legislation, ratherthan (as the Republicans have repeatedly tried) to repeal andreplace the law. Again assuming Democratic gains in November,bipartisan cooperation on an overhaul of the law will likely ensue,said Dodd.

"My hope is the next president will have the good sense andjudgement to confront issues in the law and move forward, ratherthan engage in an endless political brawl," he said. I have faithin political process."

During the keynote's Q&A , Dodd also said that Congressneeds to revisit legislation he co-sponsored, the Dodd-Frank WallStreet Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, with a view toharmonizing domestic and international regulations governing banksand other financial institutions.

Particularly needed is a consolidation "prudential regulations"of financial institutions so they better align with consumerprotection laws. New legislation should also seek to eliminateoverlapping jurisdictions among regulators.