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Former Bush aide details his loss of faith in US leader

In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of US President George W. Bush's early success at positioning himself as a Republican with Democratic appeal.

A top strategist for the Texas Democrats who was disappointed by the Bill Clinton years, Dowd was impressed by a pledge by Bush, then governor of Texas, to bring a spirit of cooperation to Washington. He switched parties, joined Bush's political brain trust and dedicated the next six years to getting him to the Oval Office and keeping him there. In 2004, he was appointed the president's chief campaign strategist.

Looking back, Dowd now says his faith in Bush was misplaced. In a wide-ranging interview, Dowd called for a withdrawal from Iraq and expressed his disappointment in Bush's leadership.

He criticized Bush 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 Bush had not moved aggressively enough to hold anyone accountable for the abuses at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and that 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," Dowd said, adding, "I think he's become more, in my view, secluded and bubbled in."

In speaking out, Dowd became the first member of 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 Bush's presidency was so great that he felt a sense of duty to go public.
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