But the Conservative Movement gained a new leader!

Here is the deal. Rush Limbaugh has been saying for several years now that there has been no leader of the Conservative Movement. Sure, there have been two Republican Presidents and even Newt with his Contract with America that brought about a takeover of control of Congress, but conservatives have had no real leader to rally the troops.

Today that changed. Laura Ingraham said on the Bill O'Reilly show this evening that after the speech today she was in a short gathering of high level conservative leaders, all with long faces, who were talking with Mitt. The tone of the meeting seemed to be that conservative support should have coalesced earlier, and there seemed to be some embarrassment that it had not. The clear understanding, albeit unspoken, however, was that Mitt left that room today as the leader of that important group.

He spoke at CPAC 2007 as something of an outsider, and had a long road to travel to overcome all of the obstacles that lay before him, a change in a position or two, his religion, his wealth (I still can't believe that one!), his too-perfect image. In the end, getting elected this year was simply a bridge too far. If CPAC 2007 marked his launch as a conservative presidential candidate, CPAC 2008 clearly marks the beginning of a new era of leadership for conservatives, with a leader around whom thinking conservatives will be able to unite.

This development is confirmed by even the most casual analysis of exit polls. Thinking conservatives across the country voted for Mitt, and they will again.

Remember, that Ronald Reagan tried in 1968 and 1976 and was defeated each time, before being elected in 1980. Mitt maintains that he is no Ronald Reagan. That might be true, but I am convinced that Mitt is the next best possibility that we are likely to see for a long, long time.

Mike B.