I mean I’m really sure Gore and Kerry would have been a whole lot better, right?
I don’t understand your tactic by using this scenario. That is like saying to a women well you should be lucky you got raped you could have been murdered. My expections for Gore and Kerry would not have been as high as Bush. President Bush was a conservative in Texas and that is what he ran on...once he got into office, he lost the conservative and became a moderate (at best).
First, Bush did not run as a conservative, his motto if you recall was a "compassionate conservative" and that is what he turned out to be. Tough on defense and liberal on domestic issues.
One thing about Bush is he was up front with who he was, what you see is what you get kind of guy.
I think some people forget that sometimes, it's not a tactic to point it out or say he wasn't our perfect pick but it was a whole lot better than the alternatives.
Kind of like this last go around, either zer0 or hold your nose then puke McCain.
I'll say one thing about Bush that you can't say for 99% of our politicians and that is he was real. I disagreed with a lot of thing he did but that is just who he was. Compared to what we have now, he is an angel.