海角大神

Mitt Romney entered the conservative lion鈥檚 den and lived to tell about it.

In fact, in the teetering GOP frontrunner鈥檚 address to a ballroom full of conservative activists Friday, he wielded the word 鈥渃onservative鈥� (or a variation) as if it were his shield 鈥� 29 times in a 26-minute speech.

鈥淚 know conservatism because I have lived conservatism,鈥� Mr. Romney told the crowd at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Conference.

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He told us about being raised in a home that was 鈥渟haped and rooted in conservative values.鈥� He talked, as always, about his 42-year marriage to Ann, their five sons, and their faith: 鈥淭hese conservative constants have shaped my life.鈥澛犅營n business, he said, 鈥渋f you're not fiscally conservative, you're bankrupt.鈥�

But it was Romney鈥檚 time as governor of liberal Massachusetts 鈥� the trickiest part of his resume for a Republican presidential candidate 鈥� that merited an upgrade: 鈥淚 was a severely conservative Republican governor,鈥� he said, asserting that he 鈥渇ought against long odds in a deep blue state.鈥�

鈥淪omebody please buy him a thesaurus,鈥� long-shot candidate Buddy Roemer suggested via Twitter, over the phrase 鈥渟everely conservative.鈥�

Romney鈥檚 brand of conservatism in Massachusetts may need elaboration, but 鈥渟evere鈥� doesn鈥檛 come to mind. 鈥淢oderate鈥� may be more like it. Romney, after all, authored the health-care reform that served as the model for President Obama鈥檚. It was his signature accomplishment, but he didn鈥檛 mention it at CPAC. Instead, he emphasized fiscal conservatism.

鈥淲e cut taxes 19 times and balanced the budget all four years,鈥� he said to cheers. 鈥淚 cast over 800 vetoes, and I cut entire programs. I erased a $3 billion budget shortfall and left office by putting in place over $2 billion in a rainy-day fund.鈥�

Then there are the social issues, which he emphasized聽in his unsuccessful 2008 campaign and has largely ignored this time around.聽聽But at CPAC, they were all the rage 鈥� especially in light of the brouhaha between the Obama administration and the Catholic Church over the mandate that religious employers include birth control in their health coverage.

Mr. Obama announced an 鈥渁ccommodation鈥� right before Romney was due to speak. Church-affiliated employers now don鈥檛 have to cover birth control. It is the insurers that now face the mandate to provide contraception 鈥� for free.

Romney didn鈥檛 mention the controversy, but he alluded to it.

鈥淚 will reverse every single Obama regulation that attacks our religious liberty and threatens innocent life in this country,鈥� he said. It was the final point in a litany of promises aimed at proving he would be a 鈥減ro-life president.鈥�

So how did Romney do? Scott Kamp, one of the legions of college students in attendance at CPAC, said he鈥檚 a Newt Gingrich fan, because he鈥檚 such a 鈥済reat speaker.鈥� But Mr. Kamp thought Romney鈥檚 speech was 鈥減retty good,鈥� and he would happily vote for him for president.聽聽

鈥淗e did pander a bit,鈥� said Kamp, who attends Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich. 鈥淏ut he has to do that here.鈥�

There鈥檚 no doubt that CPAC 2012 wasn鈥檛 Romney鈥檚 crowd, in contrast to 2008, when he was seen as the conservative alternative to eventual nominee John McCain. This was Rick Santorum鈥檚 year at CPAC 鈥� social conservatism is his bread and butter, and the crowd loved his speech. He鈥檚 favored to win the CPAC straw poll; the results will be announced Saturday afternoon, including a pick for vice president.

Some attendees noted that Romney didn鈥檛 have a table in the vendors鈥� area, while Mr. Santorum and Mr. Gingrich did. (Ron Paul, who won the 2010 and 2011 CPAC straw polls, didn鈥檛 attend this year, and didn鈥檛 have as large a contingent in attendance as the previous two years.)

But there seemed to be plenty of folks wearing Romney stickers, and in a burst of excitement, a parade of chanting, Romney-sign-carrying college students wended their way through a crowded hallway at the Marriott Wardman Park late Friday afternoon 鈥� well after Romney had left the building. It felt a bit like Occupy, conservative-style.

One sure vote against Romney at CPAC was actress and comedian Victoria Jackson, late of Saturday Night Live. She鈥檚 now a big tea party activist, and a fan of Santorum. 鈥淗e would base his decisions on the Bible,鈥� she says. Would she ever be willing to vote for Romney? 鈥淣o,鈥� she says. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 think he鈥檚 a conservative.鈥�

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