Evaluating Bush

The conventional wisdom holds that George W. Bush is a conservative Republican. Michael Tomasky of the liberal American Prospect, however, makes a worthwhile point:

On the size of government and the size of the deficit, for example, the Bush Administration has been as anti-conservative as an administration can possibly be -- and has faced only scattered criticisms from most conservatives.

So Tomasky, a liberal, admits that Bush isn't always faithful to the conservative rulebook. No one in the liberal ranks is set to call him one of their own either. So what is Bush? To try to answer this question I decided to list some of his major legislative actions since taking office:

Domestic policy (liberal)

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* Campaign finance reform legislation

* Expansion of federal role in education through No Child Left Behind Act

* Medicare drug prescription benefit
* Sarbanes-Oxley bill imposing stricter regulation on business

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Domestic policy (conservative)

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* Tax cuts

* CAFTA
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More generally Bush has also been a big spender. While some of this has been devoted to the war effort, much of it has gone to such things as massive farm subsidies and transportation projects, which I'm not sure where you place on the political spectrum. The spending has been across the board, prompting the Cato Institute to argue that Bush is more profligate than even LBJ. Plainly he is not abiding by conservative small government rhetoric.
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Bush has also shown some liberal instincts on social issues, with his administration applauding Supreme Court rulings upholding affirmative action. More currently the White House has pretty much admitted that a top priority for filling the newest Supreme Court vacancy was finding a woman. Not the best person, just a female. Bush is also soft on illegal immigration. This is an extreme right-winger?
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Now, it must be admitted that on other issues Bush has been conservative. He has appointed conservative judges to sit on federal courts. Environmental regulation has been loosened. The administration backed school choice for students in Washington DC (it is, by the way, a never ending source of amusement and disappointment to me that giving poor kids the same opportunites afforded to their better off peers is something scorned by people who call themselves liberals).
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On other issues I'm not sure where to classify Bush. The Patriot Act for example. It is widely despised on the left -- but also by many on the right. It passed overwhelmingly in Congress. Where does that place it?
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Where Bush has truly proven himself to be a conservative is foreign policy. Early on he scrapped the ABM Treaty. Declared the Kyoto Treaty to be a non-starter. Invaded Afghanistan. Declared the existence of an Axis of Evil. Toppled Saddam. Refused to deal with Yassir Arafat. Dismissed U.S. participation in the International Criminal Court. Accelerated work on ballistic missile defense. Etc.
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Again, some of this things do not easily cleave left or right. Bush's free hand to pursue the Iraq War, let us not forget, was voted for by both John Kerry and John Edwards. Pretty much any U.S. President would have taken military action against the Taliban. But overall, in the category of butt kickin' -- a conservative quality in the conventional wisdom -- Bush has earned his spurs.
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So, aggressive abroad and somewhat mushy at home -- is Bush the second coming of FDR? (No, he's the second coming of Hitler -- ed.)
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Take advantage of the comments to let me know what factors I am leaving out or why Bush is more conservative than I think he is. Also, how does Bush on domestic policy compare with Bill "Welfare reform" Clinton?