Well, it shows Dowd switched parties when he started working with Bush because he was impressed with Bush's track record as Texas governor in reaching across the aisle to work with Democrats. But he was obviously never a conservative, and his disenchantment with Bush's policies clearly stem from his persistent ideological differences with Bush.
His liberal mindset caused him to buy into the Democratic line that Bush didn't work with Democrats in Washington, ignored "the will of the people" on Iraq and governed with a "my way or the highway" mentality.
The most revealing part of the story is Dowd's critique of Bush's "acrimonious fight" with Democrats over Social Security. Dowd said Bush "had the chance, but not the desire, to reach out to Democrats."
Absent his blinding leftist bias, Dowd would understand that Bush did try to set a "new tone" and bring in Democrats to help craft policy in education, taxes, Social Security and elsewhere. He would see that from the very beginning -- Bush-Gore 2000 in Florida -- the Democrats met Bush's bipartisan overtures with stabs in the back.
Democrats falsely accused Bush of trying to destroy Social Security and wouldn't even negotiate as long as Bush insisted on pursuing very limited privatization. On taxes, they have endlessly played the class warfare card. On Katrina, they played the race card. On Iraq and the war on terror, they've obstructed every step of the way and called him Hitler.
What Democrats, including Dowd, really mean by Bush's dictatorial approach to governing is that he wouldn't abandon his policies in favor of theirs.
Why don't we ever read any stories about their partisanship, their refusal to reach across the aisle, their refusal to allow Bush to be commander in chief -- especially now that he is being vindicated in Iraq? Don't journalistic ethics and fairness demand some stories that Bush's so-called stubbornness on Iraq can now be seen as admirable vision during time of war?
All the recent hype about Bush insiders defecting is just so much propaganda. If anything, these insider "defections" show what often happens when Republicans rely on Democrats to work with them for the common good.