This piece was supposed to be about Destino ’08, the “historic” Democratic forum Spanish-language giant Univision held last Sunday at the University of Miami’s Bank United Center. But after I arrived 2½ hours early, parked nearly in South Miami, made my way by shuttle to the hall’s rear entrance, had my suit turned inside out (and my Zippo confiscated) by security and slunk the serpentine backstage corridor only to find that media would be required to watch the proceedings on screen, I left.

I mean, really. I went to cover a live debate, to gauge the energy of the room, the behavior of the participants, the swing of the mood; I went to get with the lights and the sound and the action; to be, as it were, a fly on the wall of whatever went down, so that I might report back a snapshot, however askew the view. I don’t attend events to see ‘em on TV.

Hell, had I known I’d be quarantined, I would’ve stayed home.

As it was, I should have. My Cuban friends said the questions were inane, the translations inept, the whole shebang a farce. That the forum was a pageant for Hillary, a breakout for Gov. Bill Richardson and a cakewalk for Sen. Chris Dodd … since I was comfortably ensconced in the deep dark ambience of Fox’s Sherron Inn downing rocked vodka among a gaggle of new pals, I wouldn’t know.

I do know this: If anything truly came from last weekend’s proceedings, it came even before the rabble assembled; it came at the hands of Sen. Dodd.

Yeah, I know, everyone says the gentleman from Connecticut doesn’t have a chance, and, if hype and hoopla are any indication, he probably doesn’t. But of all the candidates vying to be the next president of the United States, the five-term senator’s sure got a lock on experience — and bearing.

First off, the cat reminds me of my Uncle Jack, and I liked my Uncle Jack. A lot. Why wouldn’t I? Kind, courteous, courageous — my Uncle Jack was everything I’m not.

Uncle Jack also was the kinda cat this country was built by — stoic, steady and resolute.

So too Dodd, whose family may not have come across on the Mayflower (all eight of his great-grandparents were born in Ireland), yet, nevertheless, represents a certain old New England noblesse oblige.

Talk about patrician. In person, Dodd evokes the sort of politician who led our nation through wars Great and Greater. His voice, a perfectly coiffed baritone of soothe and stridency, sounds as if it’s being delivered via mid-20th century radio; his stance, firm and upright, could’ve come off a vintage newsreel.

No wonder Bianca Jagger and Carrie Fisher both fell for the cat.

But it is what he says and what he stands for that really give gravitas to the statesman, especially when it comes to Cuba, a situation — and a nation — that weighs heavily on the hearts and minds of many a Miamian.

At The Biltmore Saturday, Dodd, backed by an esteemed group of Cuban-Americans (including two who fought at the Bay of Pigs) and a band of Miami-Dade’s bravest (he’s been endorsed by the International Association of Fire Fighters), took the weight off our shoulders and vowed to place it squarely on those of Castro and his loyalists.

Leading with a swipe at the kowtowing presidential contenders who “every four years … rediscover Cuba” only to “pledge to maintain” the status quo, Dodd insisted “our Cuba policy has neither served America’s interests nor brought democracy to Cuba.” Worse, said the good man, “it has been an abject failure.”

Dodd believes the United States “must make a choice” to “either be players in helping to shape the Cuba landscape for the next 50 years, or remain on the sidelines while the future of Cuba is determined by others.”

“Fifty years of this [failed] policy,” he continued, “has basically left the same man in power, the same repressive politics [and] an economy that is failing the country.” Moreover, Castro’s “been using it as an excuse for his own failures.” In fact, Dodd’s “totally convinced that the current policy has had more to do with sustaining Fidel Castro’s control over the Cuban people than anything else we have done.”

Bold words, from an emboldened soul, and — hold on — they’d become bolder still.

A President Dodd “would begin to unravel the embargo.” Cuban-Americans would at last be free to “go visit their families;” American farmers would be “given the ability to access Cuban markets”; and Dodd would put an end to “preventing American families from benefiting from potentially lifesaving medical advances that are today under way in Cuban laboratories and medical clinics.”

Further, Dodd would “repeal the Cuban Adjustment Act — a law which has only encouraged Cuban migrants to risk their lives at sea and fall prey to international smuggling organizations with the promise of gaining legal resident status here in the United States.”

And, lest anyone not get the whole of his bright idea, Dodd would also “instruct the secretary of state to authorize our diplomats to meet more regularly with their Cuban counterparts at all levels and open an embassy in Havana to better serve Americans and American interests in Cuba.” And — get this — he’d “shut down TV Martí.”

Really.

To be fair, Sen. Barack Obama came to town two weeks ago calling for a similar kind of fix, but his plan was nowhere near as robust, nor as comprehensive.

Nor did it appear that Dodd had come suddenly to these conclusions. Like the best and the brightest before him (Dodd was witness to Kennedy’s history-making inaugural address and one of the “Watergate class of ‘74”), these are the results that come about when deep thoughts are met hands-on.

Even better, one gets the sense that when Dodd takes a step, he’s not afraid to stay there. There’d be no backing down.

It is a resolve Dodd seems to have inherited from his father, Sen. Thomas Dodd, whose world scope and influence can best be rediscovered in the recently released Letters from Nuremberg (Crown, $25.95), a book that humanizes what’s known as “the trial of the century.” Like father, the son’s truth is unwavering, dedicated to justice and firmly behind a brave American way. It is comprised of the traits that make great the nation — and its people.

Even with the anointed front-runners distracted with each other, it’s highly (and regrettably) unlikely the good senator will be able to slip in and nab the nomination; though one can always hope. But, whatever the outcome in ’08, Dodd should be a pivotal part of what comes to pass. It will be in our best interests, and it will be in the best interests of the world.

Do I hear Dodd for secretary of state?