ABSTRACT
George Walker Bush's political education had been considerably enhanced when he assumed the role of senior adviser in his dad's (George Herbert Walker Bush) successful 1987–1988 presidential races. Bush offered his understanding of compassionate conservatism shortly after his successful 1998 race for governor: "It is conservative to cut taxes," he said, "and it is compassionate to help people save and grow and build." Echoes of Bush's priorities and campaign strategies are evident in his August 2000 speech accepting the nomination at the Republican National Convention. Bush helped design the look of the convention to reflect a more diverse, compassionate Republican Party, and included several ethnic and racial minorities on the podium; even an AIDS activist addressed the convention. In foreign policy, Bush did not express a particularly strong vision during the campaign, other than to suggest we ought to have a humble approach and to dismiss the Democratic Party's alleged obsession with "nation-building."
