That was a campaign slogan aimed at domestic politics and the ignorant chattering class - - the 47%. Bush cut taxes for everybody and took the war to the terrorists after Clinton watched them bomb a 30' crater under the World Trade Center and did nothing but proclaim that the way to deal with terrorists was to read them their rights and put them on trial.
And he left the border wide open. As for “compassionate conservatism” he was saying just this last weekend that Republicans would come back to it eventually.