Reagan had a GOP senate for at least 4 years.Oops. I should have checked my facts. Howard Baker, Jr. was majority leader from '81 to '85, Dole was majority leader from '85 to '87 (US Senate website).
The same ilk that are castigating this president today were saying EXACTLY the same things about Reagan for 8 years.
President Reagan made some terrible mistakes (asset forfeiture laws and the successful demonization of the term "money laundering" which is really only financial privacy to name two). President Bush has made some terrible mistakes too. I don't see what's so wrong with pointing that out.
The difference between us and them is what we will do in the next election. The unions weren't happy about NAFTA and GATT and swore revenge against impeached ex-President Clinton, but when the next election came they supported him and voted for him anyway. I think President Bush's support will be weaker in '04, getting him the same treatment his father got.
I take no pleasure in pointing out Reagan's compromises. Reagan is my FDR. The problem with many today is that they demand things a president cannot do and still be effective. Any president has to face two realities or they will fail. The first is they have to play the hand dealt them. IOW, know when to fold and when to hold. The second is that even though the members of his party elected him he still is the president of the country. Reagan understood that and so does Bush. That is why both have been granted, at times grudgingly, respect from those that never voted for them in the first place. IMO Bush like Reagan has been right on the BIG things, that vision thing. Has he made concessions yes in some but none that, in the scheme of things, matter a whole lot other than to the purists. Reagan did the same and as a result it is the BIG things Reagan is remembered for. Bush's book is still being written and it remains to be seen what the last chapter will be but he is doing good so far.