[skeeter]

That's where Bush got his "compassionate conservative" theme.

Wrong again. 'Compassionate Conservative' owes more to 'Kinder & Gentler' which was coined to be a positive contrast to the Reagan era.

[bayourod]

Read the first half dozen quotes from Reagan on my profile page and note how many times Reagan uses the word compassion. The term "compoassionate conservatism" was used frequently duriung his administration.

I held positions in all three Reagan campaigns and was a strong supporter. Reagan was not the hard mean man that revisionist like Buchanan try to paint him to be.

Reagan was the epitome of compassion. In person the compassion and strong determination to make peoples' lives better was overwhelmingly apparent.

Those who know him only from history don't have the faintest clue about the man.