I’ve long since cared about the media “finding” those who once supported President Bush who now have “lost faith” because their “dissappointed” about the Iraq war, his management style, the color of his hair, etc.

Via the NY Times:

“AUSTIN, Tex., March 29 ‚Äî In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of George W. Bush‚Äôs 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, Mr. Dowd was impressed by the pledge of Mr. Bush, then governor of Texas, to bring a spirit of cooperation to Washington. He switched parties, joined Mr. 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, 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 ‚Äúmy way or the highway‚Äù mentality reinforced by a shrinking circle of trusted aides”

Sounds like Mr. Dowd has a problem with misplaced dependencies. Shades of George Stephanopoulis?

Yet this seems strange coming out on April 1st no less, but reading the rest of the article it seems like he’d been kidnapped by Democrats and re-indoctrinated. In one article he covers all the criticisms democrats have had of Bush over the last three years. For instance, Abu Grab:

“He was dumbfounded when Mr. Bush did not fire Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld after revelations that American soldiers had tortured prisoners at Abu Ghraib.”

Er, and he’s coming out now? Abu Grab was at the hight of the 2004 election cycle for which he was - by his account - single handedly winning the election for Bush. I don’t remember him having objections back then.

This is also telling:

“He said the president‚Äôs announcement last fall that he was re-nominating the former United Nations ambassador John R. Bolton, whose confirmation Democrats had already refused, was further proof to him that Mr. Bush was not seeking consensus with Democrats.”

That “consensus” crap is a page right out of the democratic playbook. When democrats say Bush doesn’t seek consensus it means that he won’t kowtow to their demands. It’s a long debunked argument.

But if you’re not choaking now in hysteria:

“Mr. Dowd does not seem prepared to put his views to work in 2008. The only candidate who appeals to him, he said, is Senator Barack Obama, Democrat of Illinois, because of what Mr. Dowd called his message of unity. But, he said, ‚ÄúI wouldn‚Äôt be surprised if I wasn‚Äôt walking around in Africa or South America doing something that was like mission work.‚Äù

He added, “I do feel a calling of trying to re-establish a level of gentleness in the world.”

Sounds like that co-dependent foreign policy of ole Mr. Flipper himself eh?

Yup, he was abducted and probed alright.