Bush the Impostor

George W. Bush is widely considered one of the most conservative
presidents in history. His invasion of Iraq, his huge tax cuts, and his
intervention in the Terri Schiavo case are among the issues on which
people on the left view him as being to the right of Attila the Hun.
But those on the right have a different perspective–mostly discussed
among themselves or in forums that fly below the major media’s radar.
They know that Bush has never really been one of them the way Ronald
Reagan was. Bush is more like Richard Nixon–a man who used the right to
pursue his agenda but was never really part of it. In short, he is an
impostor…

That’s Bruce Bartlett making his case in a Cato Policy Report and don’t miss his book, Impostor.  See also Stephen Slivinski’s report How Republicans became defenders of Big Government in the Milken Review.

Finally in related news, the leading contender for Bush’s Presidential library, Southern Methodist University, seized the needed land using eminent domain.

Addendum: Donald Coffin and Marty O’Brien point out that the article in the New York Sun linked above is misleading, there is a lawsuit contending that SMU is using nefarious shenanigans to get some land for the library but, since SMU is a private entity, eminent domain is not involved.  Virginia Postrel has a better write-up on the situation.