I think Bush is only somewhat conservative in his views. He is what I will call a 2nd generation conservative, not a direct convert. Therefore he misses the big picture many times. He gets enough of the pieces right to look and sound mostly conservative, but he is much more of a socialist than he would ever admit.
But I agree that building a coalition is his primary value. And that doesn't mean a conserative only coalition, or even a Republican only coalition. It's kind of a doofy, group therapy sort of concept. I mean, obviously politics requires compromise and coalition building. But the Dr. Phil politicians sell out key principles for temporary political peace, and they do it well before there has been adequate debate on both sides. They go to the "negotiating" table with a white flag in hand. It's political appeasement. Bush gets how wrong that is on issues of war and peace, but he totally misses it in other areas. He just fails to see the big picture and the harm an incremental surrender can do. He thinks in terms of better something than nothing. But he is wrong. Often nothing is better. That way you can regroup and try again.
I'm assuming you were replying to someone else? (If not, that's ok)