[austinTparty]

No, you can easily make the case that Bush is more of a SOCIAL conservative than Reagan. But Reagan was the free-market, pro-growth, anti-Keynesian. He was a one-man think-tank on political philosophy issues and his fiscal policy was heavily influenced by Hayek and Smith. W is a good and decent human being and a strong leader, but he unfortunately has a problem saying no to spending. Government has grown more rapidly under Bush than under any of the recent modern presidents. He has never vetoed a spending bill, and does not in his heart believe, as did Reagan, that you cannot tax and spend your way to a better society.

[Southack]

"W is a good and decent human being and a strong leader, but he unfortunately has a problem saying no to spending. Government has grown more rapidly under Bush than under any of the recent modern presidents. He has never vetoed a spending bill, and does not in his heart believe, as did Reagan, that you cannot tax and spend your way to a better society."

Actually, you'd be hard-pressed to substantiate that point.

Reagan was a great President, but he probably had the largest budget deficits in history at that time.