Newsview: Bush Not Reagan Heir Envisioned

[GreenPartyVoter]

WASHINGTON (AP) - So much for a Reagan bounce. If President Bush, who often casts himself as the political heir to conservative icon Ronald Reagan, expected the nation to see him through the same political prism, it's not happening.

A number of conservative Republicans say Bush lacks Reagan's ability to inspire and think big. Many Americans say history will remember the actor-turned-politician, who died earlier this month at the age of 93, as the better president than Bush.

Even the real Reagan progeny - Ronald Prescott Reagan - pointedly criticized the current Republican president and promised to vote "for whoever the viable candidate is who can defeat George W. Bush."

Conservatives praise the current Republican president for his tax cuts and backing for the military, and they say the two share many of the same credentials - pro-business, anti-abortion, little patience for unions, tough in the foreign policy arena. But they grumble that the federal government is growing under Bush's watch - something they argue Reagan wouldn't have allowed.

http://apnews1.iwon.com/article/20040626/D83EQMQG0.html