I believe Pres. Bush has always referred to himself as a "compassionate conservative" and has never claimed to be a "true conservative".
compassionate conservative is like libs calling themselves progressive. It's a meaningless term. Conservatives have never been compassionless. It's just how the left defines us and we've never had the ability to erase it.
I'd rather have Cheney than Bush. Cheney is a conservative and , unlike Bush, articulate his beliefs.