Was George W. Bush a Moderate?

[Stranger in a strange land]

No. He was a hardline conservative. Most of his actions and appointments show that.
The fact that the Republican Party went even more to the right does not make him a moderate. It makes them right-wing extremists.

^YES.

It's also telling that Conservapedia is pretty much disowning him after having spent years defending him. This also makes it pretty unlikely that he'll be rehabilitated, which is a good thing.

[Siloch]

Bush spent like a liberal on a conservative war, while appearing to be moderate on certain issues. In other words he is classic modern politician with no actual convictions.

This idea that government spending is somehow inherently "liberal" is one of the most moronically mind-numbed inanities of modern political discourse.

Says the Californian liberal, thats funny.

[Sol]

Bush spent like a liberal on a conservative war, while appearing to be moderate on certain issues. In other words he is classic modern politician with no actual convictions.

This idea that government spending is somehow inherently "liberal" is one of the most moronically mind-numbed inanities of modern political discourse.

Says the Californian liberal, thats funny.

Antonio's Italian.

[Maxwell]

Bush was a pandering fool. He pushed tax cuts without balance, spent massively on two wars without some kind of check in terms of revenue, and when it came time for election, he pushed the laughable Medicare Part D and he argued for immigration reform that never came through.

I think I would be hard pressed to say Bush isn't a conservative, what I will say is that he was conservative in a boneheaded way.

[Obamanation]

The fact that this question is even conceivable shows how horribly far right this country has slid.

[Blackacre]

I'd say he was not a moderate by any means, though some of his actions piss of some genuine conservatives for the same reason it upsets the rest of us.

[Antonio the Sixth]

No.

[/thread]

[Undecided Voter in the Midwest]

No, I think "neoconservative" would be the most accurate label for GWB, overall.

[TDAS04]

Nope.  Whether or not he was a solid conservative is a separate question (depends a lot on how "conservative" is defined).  He was no moderate, since he took extreme, rigid positions which he refused to compromise.  It's true that some people like that.