How frequently during the last eight years did the public hear that George W. Bush was a dangerous right-wing radical? Perhaps, this refrain was heard way too many to count. What was heard less often were viewpoints from conservatives that expressed deep skepticism about Bush's governing philosophy.

The Washington Examiner reports that, "conservatives greatly admired Bush for his steadfastness in the War on Terror - to use that outlawed phrase - and they were delighted by his choices of John Roberts and Samuel Alito for the Supreme Court. But when it comes to a fundamental principle like fiscal discipline, many conservatives felt the president just wasn't with them."

The public saw that throughout the 2008 Republican presidential primaries, when GOP candidates, while not mentioning Bush specifically, received big applause from conservative Republican audiences by pledging to return fiscal responisibilty to the White House.

Those enthusiastic conservatives may find a revealing moment in a new book scheduled for release next week, by Matt Latimer, a former White House speechwriter.

According to the Examiner, "Latimer is a veteran of conservative politics, an admirer of Sen. John Kyl, for whom he worked for several years. Latimer also worked in the Rumsfeld Pentagon before joining the Bush White House in 2007."

The revealing moment was described in "Speech Less: Tales of a White House Survivor," which occurred in the Oval Office in early 2008.

Bush had been preparing to give a speech to the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. The conference ranks as the event of the year for conservative activists: Republican politicians are required to attend the summit to give the impression that they provide support for the conservative movement.

But as reported by the Examiner, "Bush seemed to equate the conservative movement - the astonishing growth of conservative politcal stregth that took place in the decades after Barry Goldwater's disastrous defeat in 1964 - with the fortunes of (Gary) Bauer, the evangelical Christian, activist and former head of the Family Research Council whose 2000 presidential campaign went nowhere."

To read the entire article from the Washington Examiner, link here:

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