The race to fill the seat that retiring Sen. Christopher J. Dodd will soon vacate pits a crusading attorney general with more than 30 years of public service against an executive who led a successful, though bizarre, entertainment business.

Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, the Democrat in the race, has spent his career fighting to protect the environment against abuses by industry, exposing the cynical marketing of tobacco products and defending individuals unfairly denied coverage by health insurers, to name just a few of his efforts.

Meanwhile, his Republican opponent, Linda McMahon, got rich presenting a product - professional wrestling - that appeals to base instincts. Muscle-bound good and bad wrestlers act out soap-opera like storylines about revenge and betrayal. Unfortunately, the message it sends to kids is that violence is fun and without serious consequences, and that bullying is a means to get your way.

More troubling is that in some of these storylines men have beaten women to put them in their place, to the delight of the adolescent, largely male audiences.

"We've sometimes pushed the envelope," explains Ms. McMahon, saying the WWE has toned down its act to PG. At least until after Nov. 2, we suspect.

The choice in this election is obvious. Until her sudden interest in being a senator, Ms. McMahon often didn't bother to vote.

The Connecticut Republican Party should forever be embarrassed it selected Ms. McMahon for this race over Rob Simmons, a former congressman, decorated veteran and party loyalist, and for one reason only - she had money.

If elected, Mr. Blumenthal would serve as a bulwark against Republican efforts to roll back the new regulations that will hold Wall Street accountable and prevent a repeat of the abuses that led to the economic collapse of 2008. The record shows Mr. Blumenthal is a man who will strive to keep big business honest.

And the attorney general, having witnessed in hundreds of cases how unfairly health insurance companies can treat individuals, well knows the health care act approved by Congress is a major step forward to reducing abuse and extending coverage. Mr. Blumenthal says he will work to improve the legislation, while Ms. McMahon appears intent on gutting it.

Both candidates focus their job-creation proposals on small business and want to enact tax policies that benefit emerging businesses. Mr. Blumenthal, however, gives particular attention to encouraging alternative energy initiatives, while Ms. McMahon is more in the "drill baby drill" camp.

The central theme of Ms. McMahon's campaign is that she will use her business sense to attack deficit spending, yet she provides few details. In fact, she refuses to talk about reforming Medicare and Social Security, the entitlement programs that will play the largest role in driving deficits in the long term.

As for Mr. Blumenthal, we still don't understand why, on a few occasions, he falsely stated that he served in Vietnam. That's disturbing, certainly, but must be weighed against his public service, his support for veterans and the fact that in the vast majority of public appearances he described his Vietnam-era service accurately.

We do not agree with his assessment that Social Security is in good shape and fear some of his trade policies border on protectionism, risking a trade war that would benefit no one.

But on balance the choice is clear. The Day enthusiastically endorses Richard Blumenthal for the U.S. Senate.