Posted by BEN BEAUMONT – Matthew Dowd, who served as the chief strategist for President George W. Bush’s 2004 reelection campaign, will speak today at noon at the Clinton School.
Once a Texas Democrat, Dowd switched to the Republican party in 1999 to help the Bush team make its first run at the White House. In anticipation of Dowd’s appearance today, CLICK HERE for a 2007 New York Times article about Dowd breaking with the Bush camp over the Iraq War and other issues. Here’s an excerpt:
In a wide-ranging interview here, Mr. Dowd called for a withdrawal from Iraq and expressed his disappointment in Mr. Bush’s leadership.
He criticized the president as failing to call the nation to a shared sense of sacrifice at a time of war, failing to reach across the political divide to build consensus and ignoring the will of the people on Iraq. He said he believed the president had not moved aggressively enough to hold anyone accountable for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and that Mr. Bush still approached governing with a “my way or the highway” mentality reinforced by a shrinking circle of trusted aides.
“I really like him, which is probably why I’m so disappointed in things,” he said. He added, “I think he’s become more, in my view, secluded and bubbled in.”
In speaking out, Mr. Dowd became the first member of Mr. Bush’s inner circle to break so publicly with him.
He said his decision to step forward had not come easily. But, he said, his disappointment in Mr. Bush’s presidency is so great that he feels a sense of duty to go public given his role in helping Mr. Bush gain and keep power.
Currently a contributor to many news outlets, including ABC’s Good Morning America and This Week with George Stephanopoulos, Dowd also teaches at the LBJ School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas.