Bush spends too much money. Period. This is one of the downsides of so-called compassionate conservatism, because inherent to the very concept is that the governmemt should do something to prove its “compassion.” Combine this wih the Rovian desire to expand the Republican base to constituencies who want more — rather than less — from government and you have recipe for vast expansions in government spending. I think Bush is a good president and I think he’s a conservative president. But he is also a big government president in many respects. There’s less of a contradiction there than some think, by the way, but that’s a conversation for another day.