By contrast, George W. Bush has raised domestic discretionary spending by 0.4 percent of GDP in just his first two years in office -- equivalent to $630 billion over the next decade if sustained.

A key reason why Reagan made his effort is because he understood that the health of the U.S. economy was critical to national security and the defeat of Soviet communism. He knew that big government is a drag on the economy -- not just because of the high taxes that go with it, but because it pre-empts resources that the private sector can use more efficiently. Thus, an increase in government's share of GDP will eventually reduce growth even if taxes don't rise. In the end, Reagan won the Cold War not by defeating the Soviets militarily, but by showing them that we had economic resources they could never hope to match. They simply couldn't afford to keep up.

Another problem with the Bush approach to spending is that he is not just giving away relatively inconsequential pork barrel projects. Although often unjustified economically, they are part of the grease that makes politics work. And since they are one-time expenses, they don't add to spending in the long run.

Where the Bush administration has behaved irresponsibly is by initiating a new government entitlement program to subsidize prescription drugs for the elderly. This is not a one-time outlay, but one that will burden taxpayers forever. Moreover, the administration refuses to make even the most minimal effort to ensure that the least-bad bill comes out of Congress. It has signaled over and over again that President Bush will sign any drug bill, no matter how ill conceived.

Ronald Reagan had his faults, but he never conceded the principle that government should be as small as possible to do what it has to do. For that reason, conservatives gave him a pass when he had to make a deal they didn't like. I don't think George W. Bush can assume that he will get the same consideration just because of the war on terror.