If he is interested in my vote - and, as I mentioned, I voted for him before - then he and every other Republican will lean on those at the top of the Party who don't stand for principled positions, but who are "triangulating" in order to win the votes of soccer moms & such who will supposedly vote for Bush and Republicans if he moves Left. I seek to get the Republican Party to keep its promises and uphold the Constitution. If its leaders do that, they will destroy the Dems. Pandering to people who've virtually never voted Republican, while ticking off core supporters repeatedly (CFR, Patriot Act, Immigration, gun control) is not a recipe for success. But we, the conservatives at the core of Republican success, need to communicate our displeasure and our intentions. Failure to do that will leave the Party's leaders with the impression that we'll vote for them no matter what.
You make a good point about "triangulation".
I think that Bush believed that he had to go along with the Assault Weapons Ban because so many voters are ignorant and believed that it had something to do with machine guns. Hopefully, he knows better.
But in this case, the triangulation is arranged in our favor, assuming that the Congress plays "bad cop" on the AWB by failing to pass it, allowing Bush to play "good cop" by assuring the ignorant that he would sign it.
I see nothing wrong with confusing the Demoncrat gun-grabbers by allowing them to waste their time on measures that won't pass. This diverts them from working on measures that might pass.
I think that it is very valuable for politicians of both parties to understand that gun-control is a losing issue. If your representative fails to get elected even though he supports the Second Amendment, then it weakens the message that being anti-gun vs pro-gun is bad for one's career.