Compassionate Conservative

"Compassionate conservative" is an expression popularized by 43rd U.S. President George W. Bush during his 2000 presidential campaign, describing a philosophy that supports big-government policy, supposedly to help alleviate societal ills.^[1] In reality, increased government spending often exacerbates problems, as late Democratic Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan pointed out in the 1960s.^{[Citation Needed]}

The origin of the term is often attributed to presidential historian and advisor Doug Wead, who used the term as the title of his 1979 speech at the annual Washington Charity Dinner^[2]. The term continued to grow in popularity during the Reagan Era, but it undoubtedly reached its peak during the Bush administration, as a campaign slogan.

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