A few decades earlier, some Northern abolitionists wanted their states to secede rather than remain in an unholy Union with slave states. In the same way, liberalism and compassion have become illogically associated. It's natural for liberals to encourage this confusion, and Bush himself may be confirming it by suggesting that there is some sort of tension, if not opposition, between conservatism and compassion. But reason says otherwise. Government is organized force.
Every law is a limitation on liberty.
One might think that a really compassionate man would want people to be as free as possible and therefore to minimize the role of government in our lives. It seems fraudulent, and even cruel, to demand less freedom while accusing those who want more freedom of being hard-hearted. It would be different if liberals would honestly define their dreams. They never say. No matter how much the state expands, they want it to have still more power.