In the Spirit Of April Fools Day

The following has been commented on a few other places since I wrote it, but I think it captures the spirit of the day... just as does Dan Bartlett just now in an interview criticizing Speaker Nancy Pelosi for visiting Syria when she ought to be spending her time passing the supplemental appropriations for the cretins' war on Iraq. This from the Counselor to Crawlforth's continuous resident. It really is a Fine Day for Fools.

A lot of us were not taken in by the cretin in chief, so our feelings about our country's being subjected to this presidency don't combine with a personal feeling of guilt. Not so for a certain person who worked to get him into power, and regrets it.

In 1999, Matthew Dowd became a symbol of 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 the pledge of 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 in Austin, Dowd called for a withdrawal from Iraq and expressed his disappointment in 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 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. "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 is so great that he feels a sense of duty to go public given his role in helping Bush gain and keep power.

Dowd, a crucial part of a team that cast Sen. 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 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," Dowd said. "Just being quiet is not an option when I was so publicly advocating an election."

I cannot imagine believing in the idiot in the presidency, but I can imagine how badly it feels to be responsible for that presidency.

More will be joining Dowd's ranks, in apologizing for their stupidity. Welcome to you all.


See also correntewire's Lambert on the subject.