Yes, his positions were there for us to see, but many of us voted for him anyway because the alternative was so much worse.
We voted for him with the hope that he was just pandering for votes and really wouldn't allow an invasion and really would actually use his veto pen.
Do you really think that without the Soviet Union, the U.S. would not have moved into the Middle East long ago? IMHO the invasions were put on the "to do" list upon the fall on the Berlin Wall.