Matt Dowd sees 'A New Way' for American politics

— -- If you’ve watched any political coverage on any ABC News platform over the last few years, you know Matt Dowd.

As ABC News’ chief political contributor, Dowd covered the 2016 elections — weighing in on panels, offering analyses during breaking news and breaking down developments on his digital show, “Strait Talk,” co-hosted by LZ Granderson. But Dowd’s reporting work as a system outsider is informed by his years as the ultimate insider — a man who cut his teeth at every tier of political power before running President George W. Bush’s re-election campaign in 2004.

During our conversation, Dowd shared how, even as a young boy in a large Catholic family, growing up in Detroit, he knew he was destined to work in those circles of power.

“There was a single incident that happened with me that actually led me to where I am, which was Watergate,” he said. Watching our Constitution being tested in real time, processing the human drama between an insecure president and a dogged press corps, witnessing the unraveling of an institution — for Dowd, it was a heady and enticing combination.

“I didn’t actually know what I was going to do or how,” he recalled. “But I knew I wanted to be in politics.”

As a college student, Dowd interned for Rep. Dick Gephardt in Missouri. He went to work for the senatorial re-election campaign of Lloyd Bentsen in Texas. He worked for Democrats for more than two decades, then left politics to start a few businesses before being recruited in 1999 to work on Bush’s presidential campaign.

“I made a decision then I would,” said Dowd. “I thought, here’s a person — and I think many people were attracted to him — and thought, here’s a guy that brought people together in Texas, bridged the divides … and I thought, that’s what we need in Washington.”

After a successful run in 2000, Dowd went on to run the Bush re-election campaign in 2004 against John Kerry — a contest that saw some of the nastiest political battles in recent years.

“I think it’s been every cycle, that increases as the country tribalizes,” said Dowd. “Campaigns fundamentally don’t change society. Campaigns are a reflection of where society is heading.”

An effort linked to the Bush campaign attacked Kerry’s record as a Vietnam veteran. Bush endorsed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage. The New Yorker, in its endorsement of Kerry, called the campaign “as ugly and as bitter as an in American memory.”

Dowd says he disagreed with those tactics and platforms but still felt at the time that the greater mission to get Bush re-elected would ultimately serve the greater good.

“I remember having this conversation in my head — ‘If I can just get him re-elected, he’ll do all the things that I want him to do that will be great. He’ll bring the country together,’” Dowd recalled. “It didn’t turn out that way. And I had a public break with him in that. But that’s what happens in a campaign. It’s like a relationship.”

Dowd’s new book, “A New Way: Embracing the Paradox as We Lead and Serve,” pulls together his lessons learned from years in the political trenches and in the highest office in the land. The goal, he says, is to offer Americans, frustrated with the failures of elected leadership to live up to their expectations, a sense of empowerment to lead in their own ways.

“I’ve realized the greatest power is locally,” said Dowd. “If you look at the history of our country, the best leaders figure out where the country wants to go, and they try to get one half step in front of where they’re going.”

Check out the full conversation on this week’s episode of “Uncomfortable.”

Download and subscribe to the “Uncomfortable” podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Play Music, Stitcher, and ABC News podcasts.

Dowd was interviewed as part of a series called “Uncomfortable,” hosted by Amna Nawaz, that offers in-depth honest conversations with influential figures about issues dividing America.