Something George W. Bush understands is that change on contentious issues is incremental. The country will not support radical change. However, radical change can be effected through a series of much smaller changes.
The Democrats have long understood incremental change and have used it effectively to achieve their goals. Bush shows he understands their game and is turning their game against them. Smart politicians learn quickly from their opponents.
Many went along complacently for decades after WWII while the leftists promoted their agenda a little bit at a time. We upset the left in the Al Gore defeat when gun owners in otherwise democrat strongholds voted Republican for a change. That can change overnight once they get lulled back to sleep by the democrats. During Reagan, we had the Reagan democrats in Macomb County, Michigan. In reality they were mostly a bunch of pouting blue collar democrats who voted democrat locally, and now vote democrat nationally again as well--i.e. Bill Clinton. It wasn't just Wayne County that gave Gore Michigan in 2000.
I would like to see President Bush be more agressive in some areas of national policy, but I recognize that he has a slim majority to work with in the house and a go along to get along Republican minority in the senate. I believe your observation--a radical swing to the right will only make Bush a one termer and risk two or more terms of communazi control. Unfortunately, and patiently, we need to be as pragmatic as they are.