deaconjim wrote: "If we are judging him on being a Conservative, he barely passes muster."
I'm really curious how he passes muster. What's your definition of conservative, and how has he met it? Being a Democrat-lite doesn't make someone conservative.
Bush understands the concept of tax cuts to increase revenue. He is willing to let the free market work. He is respectful of the military, understands its purpose, and is willing to let them do their jobs when necessary. Bush is not a gun grabber. He is pro-life. He has no apparent pro-homosexual agenda. Bush is prone to doing what he believes is right rather than chasing poll numbers. He choses his people based on their abilities rather than trying to meet a quota (no, I can't explain Miers).
As I said, he barely passes muster. I would prefer that he did away with income taxes altogether, and that he were more aggressive on pushing other conservative issues, but I knew from day one that he was not going to do that. At this point, we have to be happy with what we can get from him, and plan on electing a more conservative president next time around