Where did the idea of compassionate conservatism come from? According to many on the left, the answer is former US President George W. Bush.
Bush certainly branded his first administration with the same label, especially before 9/11. But this was a serious misnomer, for in fact his approach had the twin drawbacks of being neither compassionate nor conservative. It was not compassionate: indeed, its main promoter John DiIulio fell foul of his colleagues in the White House in 2001 by insisting that money be directed to black and Latino churches, infuriating white Evangelicals. And it was not conservative, as was shown by the extension of federal influence into local schools through the No Child Left Behind Act of 2002, and the extraordinary ramp up in federal spending that took place even before the financial crash of 2008.