Reagan could actually articulate conservatism. Bush almost seems ashamed to be a conservative.
Yeah Reagan really articulated conservatism by raising social security taxes, while Bush actually tried to reform the system.
"Bush almost seems ashamed to be a conservative."
You're right. This shows through in things like how he responded to Katrina.
I don't think its trivial either. His actions and his words set the parameters for our current political discourse. And to my mind, its not the right one.