I’m normally a little suspicious when “insider” accounts of the White House are published, so take the following with a grain of salt.  But according to a soon-to-be released book by Bush staffer Matt Latimer titled: Speech-less: Tales of a White House Survivor, Bush had some, err, interesting things to say about conservatism.  Captain Ed, via Byron York, relays some of the more telling quotes.

Bush was preparing to give a speech to the annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC. The conference is the event of the year for conservative activists; Republican politicians are required to appear and offer their praise of the conservative movement.

Latimer got the assignment to write Bush’s speech. Draft in hand, he and a few other writers met with the president in the Oval Office. Bush was decidedly unenthusiastic.

“What is this movement you keep talking about in the speech?” the president asked Latimer.

Latimer explained that he meant the conservative movement — the movement that gave rise to groups like CPAC.

Bush seemed perplexed. Latimer elaborated a bit more. Then Bush leaned forward, with a point to make.

“Let me tell you something,” the president said. “I whupped Gary Bauer’s ass in 2000. So take out all this movement stuff. There is no movement.”

Bush seemed to equate the conservative movement — the astonishing growth of conservative political strength that took place in the decades after Barry Goldwater’s disastrous defeat in 1964 — with the fortunes of Bauer, the evangelical Christian activist and former head of the Family Research Council whose 2000 presidential campaign went nowhere.

Now it was Latimer who looked perplexed. Bush tried to explain.

“Look, I know this probably sounds arrogant to say,” the president said, “but I redefined the Republican Party.”

Probably the most depressing thing about this is the fact that George Bush actually thought that Gary Bauer was the true head of the conservative movement, and that defeating him in the 2000 primary meant that Bush had triumphed over conservatism.

And just to rub a little extra dash of salt in the wounds, President Bush made some not-so-flattering remarks about Sarah Palin.

Again, I’m willing to extend some benefit of the doubt to Bush, but not much.  Honestly, this is not surprising.  Bush never displayed any penchant towards being a leader of any kind of conservative movement, unless we’re talking about the odious bastardization of conservatism called “compassionate” conservatism, which is wholly unconservative at its core.

We could recite the litany of non-conservative actions undertaken by the Bush administration, but frankly it’s a bit old.  Needless to say, there was a reason I didn’t back Bush during the 2000 primary campaign (then again, the guy I did back – McCain – wasn’t much better).  Of course I generally supported the Bush administration, especially during his first term.  I was willing to overlook some of his short-comings because I believed, on the whole, he was a good president, so I had no qualms about voting for the man in 2004.  In fact, I said at the time that it was the first time I ever really voted for someone as opposed to against someone.  And considering the current occupant of the Oval Office, there are times when I look back wistfully upon the Bush presidency.

But what makes my blood boil in reading these extracts is that the political harm Bush did to conservatism was intentional.  One can almost forgive the guy for making mistakes that affected the electoral prospects of the GOP, and for abandoning conservative principles from time to time as long as he was making an otherwise good faith effort to enact conservative principles.  But to realize that he didn’t just go off the reservation on occasion, but in fact relished spitting in the face of the conservative movement . . . well, that’s maddening.  Even if Bush never promised to be a movement conservative, and even if it was apparent that he wasn’t one, this puts everything into stark relief.

It also makes the apparent Bush-Cheney rift more understandable.  Cheney had no doubt grown frustrated by Bush’s non-conservatism, and I think that is what has motivated him to take on such a public role over the past few months.  He seems to want to patch over the damage that Bush did to conservatism – damage that was intentionally inflicted.

Update: Jay Anderson has further thoughts.

“I redefined the Republican Party.”

Yeah, how’s that working out for ya there, Dubya? Better yet, how’s that working out for your party. YOU are responsible for the largest Democrat majorities in Congress in decades, as well as for the current occupant of the Oval Office being one of the most liberal, and certainly the most pro-abortion, Presidents ever. That ALL comes back on you.

But you did do the “conservative movement” a huge favor. You showed, once and for all, that conservatives and Republicans are not the same thing. I will always admire your stalwart stands on life issues such as abortion and ESCR. And while you deserve credit for giving us a hopefully lasting legacy in Chief Justice Roberts and Justice Alito, we will never forget that you’re also the master practitioner of cronyism who tried to pawn off Harriet Miers on us with your patented “Trust me.”

If what this tell-all reveals is anywhere close to the truth, you have reaffirmed our refusal to just trust you on the Miers pick. Good riddance to you, Mr. President. Enjoy your retirement, and please never bother us again.