With today’s rough political climate, the Bush administration and Republicans need to work for small victories, according to one of the major players in the president’s re-election campaign.

“When you are in this environment, you just have to go about the business of governing. It’s not about hitting home runs,” political strategist Matthew Dowd said. “It’s about hitting singles and doubles and just trying to get those news events with more positive news out of them.”

As chief campaign strategist for the Bush-Cheney 2004 campaign, Dowd spoke to about 200 people at the Dole Institute of Politics on Tuesday about the election, as well as his thought on the future of U.S. politics.

During an interview before his speech, Dowd said Democrats may have a tough time regaining either house of Congress because Republicans have a geographical advantage on what seats are up. But political fallout from Hurricane Katrina, the Iraq war and other Washington events may make it a little easier for Democrats.

“Because of where the numbers are today, it’s not as contagious,” he said of Republican support.

During his speech, Dowd said the Bush campaign thoroughly examined its strategy for 2004 after the narrow 2000 victory.

Campaign leaders aimed to strengthen their Republican base to take advantage of the polarization in the country.

“Today, so many avenues of information exist. People now have easier access to information that confirms an opinion they have. Both sides do,” Dowd said.

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But people tend to vote differently today as opposed to 20 years ago because the type of lifestyle they live more deeply influences their political choices and what issues they care about, he said.

“We tried to figure out the best way to talk to people and what things they care about most on a localized level,” Dowd said.

While he did not predict any major contenders for the 2008 presidential election, Dowd said the election would be interesting and important for both political parties because neither has an heir apparent.

Dowd said former first lady and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, D-N.Y., may have some advantage for the Democratic nomination, but he said her winning the race was not a “slam dunk.”

“I am not completely convinced that she is going to run,” he said.

Dowd also shared an anecdote about seeing exit polls on Election Day that suggested Bush losing. As he began to study the data, Dowd said he saw that it was flawed, but others in the campaign were not as convinced until later when results came in.

“The president probably called me 17 times between 4:30 p.m. and 1 a.m. I think he was slightly concerned,” Dowd said.