Disillusionment is a bitch, innit?

In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of George W. Bush’s early success at positioning himself as a Republican with Democratic appeal.
[...]
Looking back, Mr. Dowd now says his faith in Mr. Bush was misplaced.

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.”
[...]
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.

It only took eight years for Dowd to realize that Bush & Co. were 150% full of shit. That’s impressive coming from one of the (supposedly) great political minds of our generation. And what is Dowd doing to correct the errors of his ways?

Mr. Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Senator John Kerry as a flip-flopper who could not be trusted with national security during wartime, said he had even written but never submitted an op-ed article titled “Kerry Was Right,” arguing that Mr. Kerry, a Massachusetts Democrat and 2004 presidential candidate, was correct in calling last year for a withdrawal from Iraq.

“I’m a big believer that in part what we’re called to do — to me, by God; other people call it karma — is to restore balance when things didn’t turn out the way they should have,” Mr. Dowd said. “Just being quiet is not an option when I was so publicly advocating an election.”

Smashing. His road to redemption consists of an unpublished op-ed and a Times interview that ran on the least read day of the week. Lean back, Matt Dowd’s on a mission.

“It’s almost like you fall in love,” he said. “I was frustrated about Washington, the inability for people to get stuff done and bridge divides. And this guy’s personality — he cared about education and taking a different stand on immigration.”
[...]
“When you fall in love like that,” he said, “and then you notice some things that don’t exactly go the way you thought, what do you do? Like in a relationship, you say ‘No no, no, it’ll be different.’ ”

Nullus. Also Battered Voter Syndrome and Battered Citizen Syndrome.

While all of this is certainly news, the most interesting part came via quotes from camp counselor to the President, Dan Bartlett and former White House Communications Director Nicolle Wallace:

Wallace: “Everyone is going to reflect on the good and the bad, and everything in between, in their own way. And I certainly respect the way he’s doing it — these are his true thoughts from a deeply personal place.”

Bartlett: “Do we know our critics will try to use this to their advantage? Yes. Is that perfect? No. But you can respectfully disagree with someone who has been supportive of you.”

Is Wallace suggesting that everyone else who disagrees with the Administration is being disingenuous? Does Bartlett, given the way the White House has dealt with dissent, mean to say that prior support is a precondition to respect? Given what Wallace and Bartlett do for a living – communications – the answer is obviously yes.

So what’s Dowd going to do with himself now that he realizes his part in the decline of this country?

“I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t walking around in Africa or South America doing something that was like mission work.”

Perfect. Don’t let the door hit you.