Horse bunk. Ronald Reagan, may he rest in peace, did not give us 2 conservative SCOTUS appointments. He gave us Scalia--but Scalia's vote for years was cancelled by O'Connor and/or Kennedy.
I love Reagan (unfortunately I never voted for him--I was a 'rat in those days!), but to say Bush isn't a conservative on judicial appointments is balderdash.
Because he was inventing everything. And he pushed hard, almost alone, for Bork, and was undermined by his own side...and not just Arlen Specter the Defector. Reagan did not have a GOP Congress. And lost the Senate in 1986. Reagan had no support system to develop, find, and push forward conservative constitutional jurisprudence. Today, we have the Federalist Society. Reagan didn't. But because of what he did, that is why we have a GOP Congress today, and a whole slew of conservative constitutionalist jurisprudential candidates.
As for Kennedy and O'Connor, see above about the feeder system. And betrayal. The RINO "moderates" LIED THROUGH THEIR TEETH about them...and swore up and down to Reagan they would be opposed to judicial activism.
Well I did, and tried hard to put him over in '76 against the RINO Gerald Ford.
but to say Bush isn't a conservative on judicial appointments is balderdash.
Two Words: Harriet Meiers.
Fortunately we had sufficient pull to get him to back off. But he is still manifestly smarting over it...and nobody who knows him will deny he holds grudges.
He isn't totally worthless. But he isn't a solid supporter either. He is merely honoring very explicit campaign commitments...which we are trying to hold him to...and with mixed success. For example: He has allowed quite a number of good nominees to languish inexcusably when he always had the option of recess appointments...or the clout in Congress to demand action.