It referred to the reluctance of the U.S. to engage in European wars, and was only peripherally about "free trade".
Mr. Bush likes to sling the word around in that context, but in so doing, he is banking on the history challenged like yourself to swallow the line, and not worrying about the rest of us who do remember it in the original context.
BTW, if you're enamored of the politics and social nature of foreign countries, and not this one, no one's stopping you from moving.
Preach it.