Thank you for this post. This is exactly how I feel - Bush is not as conservative as I am, but he is conservative. I could not get elected president in this country if I stated what I really feel-people would get nervous being told the unvarnished truth. So Bush puts a little varnish on his message ("compassionate" conservative) and is elected.
But the judiciary is where the real battle is at the moment. We need conservative, strict constructionist judges and justices who will rule on what the Constitution really means - not get involved with right-wing activism.