Republicans hope Reagan nostalgia will boost Bush

0 Comments | AFP, June, 2004

WASHINGTON (AFP) — George W. Bush, who has patterned his presidency largely on that of his conservative idol Ronald Reagan, may benefit from a bump in the polls as Americans ride a wave of "Gipper" nostalgia.

Bush has claimed the mantle of Reagan's ideological heir. Political observers note that Reagan's political style and ideas have influenced Bush more than has his own father, George Herbert Walker Bush, who succeeded Reagan in the Oval Office.

The presidencies of Reagan and the current President Bush "are very similar,"

Tom DeLay a conservative Texan and one of the top Republicans in the House of Representatives.

"The two men are very similar, in philosophy, in their belief in God, in their faith, in who they are," DeLay said.

"The whole...