Little empathy for former Bush aide

Re “A Bush strategist blazes his own trail,” Column One, Nov. 14

So Matthew Dowd doesn’t think President Bush is “evil or bad,” just “a good person that didn’t accomplish what he set out to do.”

If Bush set out to enrich his and Vice President Dick Cheney’s friends in the defense industry, or to project U.S. power in the Middle East without regard to the consequential loss of human life, or to create upheaval in the oil market that would send crude and gas pump prices spiraling skyward, or to create a climate in the Middle East that would greatly increase the threat of further terrorist attacks, then I think the most accurate characterization of Bush is evil and successful.

Edward Watters

Woodland Hills

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Are we to believe that Dowd is having second thoughts about his service under the Bush administration, or is he positioning for a job with the next?

As one of Karl Rove’s recruits, Dowd was part of the team working to weaken the Constitution, Bill of Rights, America’s standing in the world and our security at home, for starters.

As a Texan, I can tell you that as governor, Bush worked diligently to dismantle many programs involving health and community. He spent his terms not enforcing royalty payments by Big Oil polluters and gutting the third-richest university system in America by privatizing the university fund. I am not clear from where Dowd’s affection for Bush comes.

A warm human interest article about a scoundrel hiding behind a cross and telling us how he is better now is repulsive. I liken it to an arsonist blowing out the match and saying “forgive me” in the same breath.

Marc Haslam

Austin, Texas

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I’m so moved by Dowd’s conversion to the real world and his spiritual quest to India, Israel and Nepal.

Let me suggest another spiritual quest: Iowa, Rhode Island and Michigan, where he can speak to the parents, brothers, sisters, wives and cousins of those who died for Bush’s failed policies and apologize for implementing the latter. Or is this too close to home?

Bernadine Bednarz

Los Angeles