Bush the Extremist

I was perusing Kevin Drum's site the other day and I came across this post called Conservatism vs. Extremism. In it he starts out with a discussion on a article in the Prospect arguing that conservatives are more concerned with conservative philosophy, while liberals are more concerned with strategy (he uses "obsessed" instead of concerned).
About half way through he changes the subject slightly and says this:

For now, though, let me just say that I think both of these pieces gloss over an important point: extremism. I'd say that extremist liberals are every bit as ideologically driven as extremist conservatives and that moderate conservatives are every bit as interested in problem solving as moderate liberals.

Which I agree with him on. I'll take it a step further and say that I don't think that you can really say with any degree of accuracy what moderate liberals and conservatives believe (unless you are looking solely at elected officials) because peoples views are never confined to those stereotypes. I'm liberal on some issues, conservative on others. Am I a moderate? On some issues yes, and on some issues a resounding no.
After that he brings out this little diddy:

Back here on planet Earth, though, we happen to be at a point in history when the Republican party has been taken over by extremists like Tom DeLay, Grover Norquist, and George Bush. If the Democratic party were headed up by, say, Noam Chomsky, Michael Moore, and Barbara Ehrenreich, you'd have all the liberal philosophy you could stomach. But it isn't. Those three have their own spheres of influence, certainly, but the actual Democratic party is run by folks like Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, Howard Dean, and Bill Clinton, none of whom are agitating to take over the means of production or disband the military-industrial complex.

Um.... Excuse me. Bush is an extremist? I'd pair Bush up with Clinton or Dean any day. If Kevin thinks that Bush represents the extreme right in American politics then he is further left than I thought he was. Noticeably, when your philosophy is far to the right or left of the spectrum, your idea of where the middle is can get kind of distorted.
The way I look at it, Bush champions issues like prescription drug support, liberalized immigration, large education programs that cost hundreds of millions of dollars, and I think I'm looking at the most effective liberal (modern definition) in recent memory. When I think what he's done internationally, I think I'm looking at the most effective liberal (classical definition) in recent memory.
Sure, he's conservative in many areas too, such as the social arena, and the generally conservative issue of Social Security reform (which was actually taken up in a similar way, but then dropped, by Clinton). So Bush is an extremist why?
Perhaps Kevin is referring to the reputation the current administration has, which has been built up by the left, of not conceding evidence that might refute his philosophy. "It's extremism that cares nothing for empirical evidence, not conservatism." OK, but in that case I wouldn't call Bush an extremist, I'd call him an American Politician.