Is Bush moving to the middle?

Robert Novak in the Chicago Sun-Times says Bush may be leaning toward the middle as he heads into his second term. Then again, don't all Presidents tend to move, or get pushed to the center regardless of party affiliation?

The inaugural address, which evoked lavish praise from many Republicans, sounded less conservative than neo-conservative in advocating a global crusade for democracy. But it was not the speech that generated unease among some of President Bush's staunchest supporters. A re-elected president's speech at his inauguration is not supposed to be an ideological manifesto.

Instead, concern about Bush's second-term course is derived from signals, small and large, coming from the White House. None of them separately signifies a president abandoning the principles on which he was elected. But taken together, they generate doubt and more than a little unease on the right.

*In pre-inaugural comments, Bush sounded defeatist about prospects for a constitutional amendment to bar same-sex marriage. After campaigning on the issue last year, he appeared resigned to failure in the Senate this year.