And, to follow up on that...

"...[I]t is only fair to add that many of Bush's steps in the direction of bigger government (notably the Medicare and education bills) include reforms that, if they can be built upon, should greatly improve the performance of those programs. In addition, the federal deficit at the end of 2003, though dollar-wise the largest in history, represented only 4.2 percent of GDP -- by no means a record. Still, a widely circulated Office of Management and Budget chart showing the percentage increases in discretionary domestic spending reveals just how far President Bush has wandered from fiscal discipline: Lyndon Johnson, 1965-69, 4.3 percent; Richard Nixon, 1970-75, 6.8 percent; Gerald Ford, 1976-77, 8.0 percent; Jimmy Carter, 1978-81, 2.0 percent; Ronald Reagan, 1982-89, 1.3 percent; George Bush, Sr., 1990-93, 4.0 percent; Bill Clinton, 1994-2001, 2.5 percent; George W. Bush, 2002-04, 8.2 percent. Historically, one of the chief things the Republican party and the conservative movement have had going for them is the public belief that they are financially more responsible than their opponents and less inclined to expand government. If Bush squanders those assets in pursuit of 'bolder, more inspirational ideas,' he will bear a heavy responsibility for the future fates of the party and the movement. No wonder many conservatives are ill at ease. There is probably still time -- though just barely -- for Bush to make policy corrections that will signal his continued allegiance to the basic principles of traditional conservatism. Unless he does, he may win the next election at the price of presiding over the political destruction of the conservative movement." --William Rusher