Punt: Someone more cynical than I might say that Bush is the epitome of the watered down mess that the GOP has become (hardly the NeoCon poster boy many hoped for). Sop to religious right, sop to the defense industry, sop to big business - buuuuut - expand the federal workforce, punt on a host of domestic issues by giving into half-assed compromises, and alienate our former allies without a plan to really replace them (unless you find an Albania for Germany trade appetizing). Reagan and Bush always thought globally. Bush seems only to think locally (not domestically, mind you), while as the leader of the last superpower, every sneeze he has causes ripples in foreign currency markets. For all of his assembled brainpower, his administration is either too busy with the Middle East or simply too arrogant to care.