Why did Republicans fall in love with George W. Bush in the first place?

I'm re-watching some of the GOP presidential primary debates from 1999, and George W. Bush was definitely NOT the most conservative candidate.



He was preaching something called "compassionate conservatism," which is just kind of silly.



Why didn't Republicans and conservatives back then rally behind John Kasich, Steve Forbes, Lamar Alexander, or Pat Buchanan - all of whom were more conservative than George W. Bush?



I don't get it. Especially now, when people complain that "George Bush wasn't a REAL conservative."



Well if he wasn't a "real" conservative... why did you nominate him in the first place, you morons???Why did Republicans fall in love with George W. Bush in the first place?
Kasich did have a pretty good degree of support, he just wasn't as well known as W. Lamar Alexander was a latecomer to the race and was a RINO, Forbes was the Northeast Corridor Country Club blue blood Republican candidate (but he did have some really good ideas that I liked), Buchanan was an isolationist. McLame was a RINO then, just as he is now.



People were never really in love with W. He was just the most well known of the candidates and had a pretty good grassroots organization. He did have a large base that believed in him, but you are right. I never liked that 'compassionate' Conservative mantra. Conservatism is compassionate to the 'individual' in that it presents them the opportunity to go as far as they desire.
Why are you afraid to use accurate words? Nobody fell in love with him. I'd believe many Democrats fell in love with Obama because of the chants and songs you can find on Youtube. Not to mention the many women that say, "I love you, Obama" and "I want to have Obama's child" etc. Who says that about Bush? Nobody had that kind of trance over Bush, he was not that charming.Why did Republicans fall in love with George W. Bush in the first place?
It Wasn't a love affair, far from it. There wasn't much in the field. Only a very small percentage of primary voters can carry a State. I am thinking what carried him was the fact that his dad held the office, and lost it due to Ross Perot running as an independent. Otherwise, Clinton never would have made it. Check the numbers and add them up. A third party ALWAYS takes down the GOP.

BTW, Ross Perot also ran against Clinton and Bob Dole, cinching Clinton a 2nd term. Add up the numbers and you will see.

edit: Bush2 got a landslide second election..... UBL sent over his personal endorsement of John Kerry, and that pulled many many votes to Bush.


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Firstly, Papa Zaza deserves our appreciation for being so loyal to "Mando" and for being depreciably silly.



Secondly, (and more realistically) I didn't think so highly of either Bush, backing, instead, Perot in '92 and anybody not affiliated with the party-machines in 2000



Eventually, we'll come to our respective %26amp; collective senses.



When we're once again the land of the free and home of the brave, we'll cast aside these "factions" (what the Framers and Founders called "parties") and vote according to our consciences.



...Why did Republicans fall in love with George W. Bush in the first place?
I wasn't in love with him. He did alot of things I didn't like. He did do one thing for 8 years that Obama couldn't do for even one year and I love the man for. He prevented attacks on American soil both large and small attempts. Obama couldn't manage to thwart the first one come his way.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Hood_s鈥?/a>
Karl Rove was very good at his job of mud slinging and promoting G.W. Bush. There are a lot of party voters. I have a friend who didn't like Bush but voted for him because, he was the GOP nominee. The family/moral values bit helped also.
Not that I'm a Conservative, nor was I old enough at the time to really care. But President Bush campaigned on less foreign intervention and nation building, something that is very much in tune with the Conservatives
Because of the 'threat' of terrorism and the idea that Americans should give up their freedoms only to live cowering in fear.
I don;t know how they can like him now, but during the first election, he made lots of nice promises, he ran on a humble foreign policy and fiscal this and that, but I learned real quick he was more of the same
Probably because the media didn't tell how he got wealthy by using imminent domain to acquire land to build a baseball stadium on, with revenues from a special sales tax
Don't know, I wasn't old enough to vote at the time.
He was better then the alternative Data ooops Al Gore. By the way I voted for Clinton both times even though at the end of his second term Steel Industries was failing.
i think G W had a good heart. but just when u thought he could not sound any stupider, he would prove you wrong. spongebob is a better public speaker. wth, why did he not fire whoever was writing his sppeches.
Electability.
I can accept those c0nservatives voting him in the first time, but the 2nd time??? I don't get it.
Because he wasn't Al Gore. Lesser of two evils and all that..
smoke weed
And yet Democrats considered Algore, an unmitigated idiot, to be intelligent and qualified to occupy the White House. They also thought Clinton was honest and a faithful husband and Obama would run the most transparent Presidency in US history.

Lord, are Dems gullible.
Almost 7 years of the best economy I have seen in my 48 years.