I've been in Texas since long before Bush was made Governor.
Everyone who saw Bush in action knows where he is coming from, exactly. Bush is a genuine statesman and gentleman, and he is someone who has tried to keep his words on many issues. As Texas Governor, he ran on 3 issues, and he met them all. His reelection was stunning, 70% of the vote.
You can credit Bush with a large share of why Texas is today a 100% Republican state, with zero state offices in Dem hands. His legacy.
"Most natives are very conservative"
Yes, sure, but they still voted for liberal feminist Ann Richards in 1990. I too am more conservative than Bush, and told my family of liberals once that my only problem with Bush was that he wasn't conservative enough.
I know the Bush that took on Tom Pauken, and the Bush that almost signed on to tax increases for education in 1998. (We conservatives are getting a much better deal than that today - Perry's Sharp commision tax is a *real tax cut* and the liberals are howling about that, but it will work, and will be a good deal overall.)
But Bush has been open about what his position is on things and he's never wavered. If you werent clued in by his 'compassionate conservative' remark, or his comment in 1999 criticizing some of the GOP budget-cutting, at least be honest enough to admit that Bush has been advocating guest worker progam since 2004, and has not budged substantially on it.
I just wish he'd go for the guest-worker program of Kyl-Cornyn, the one that is least like MCCain-Kennedy and most like the Tancredo position, at least in the Senate.