Bush followed paths that lead to this point. That he has chosen the easier paths says a lot about him and his commitment to space.

With the 05 budget he had to have either committed to recertifying the STS or canceling it. The ISS budget mess had to be dealt with and he chose to downsize and retreat...it was nearly useless and now it's what? Useless? He pushed back OSP and changed it to CEV and in the end has possibly killed manned spaceflight. Whether you buy that is not important. I don't think it is a conspiracy just planning that easily leads to that end. People who don't want to see this possibility call it "some silly conspiracy theory" because it suits them to label it such.