Let's get this fleshed out.
Both the education bill, and the prescription drug benefit, spent money to effect STRUCTURAL change in how the money was spent. The education bill mandated a myriad of local controls and accountabilities previously nonexistant. That "Kennedy sellout" was a bait-and-switch ... on Kennedy! We have more local control, accountability and power locally than we had before that bill. That's a DEFEAT for the lefties.
The prescription drug benefit? Is there any wonder why the opposition to this bill was among DEMOCRATS and "true conservatives"? No, as we've seen here on FR, the "real conservatives" walk in lockstep with the Socialist lefties. This Drug benefit is the camels nose under the tent of privitization of Medicare. It has a "personalized" component. Why do you think Bernie Frank and FR paleos hated it? Bush watched the "Gingrich Revolution" fizzle. Watch Joe Scarborough today, that boy just don't get it. Seizing the supply of government from the American people, with no carrot, is a political loser. See the elections of 1996 and 1998. Bush understand that the way to shrink government is to shrind DEMAND for government. And he'll spend money to do it. And he does. He's undergoing a very unpopular transformation of the Pentagon. Army assholes hate it! They sure have access to the media, too, don't they. Iraq is a quagmire. We know that, because Army officers are telling ABC/NBC/CBS/CNN/NYT/LAT/AP/WPost and every foreign journalist that. But, we're winning there too. F*** the Paleo nitwits around this joint. Bush is the best thing that ever happened for Conservatism.
First of all, which branch of the military did you serve in? Second of all, all of my "army asshole" friends who are still enlisted think Bush's plan is great.