A response to one of my Sarah Palin posts yesterday, about trying to comprehend her decision to quit, led reader "Cleo K" to comment, "WHAT WAS JOHN MCCAIN THINKING??????"

I'm presuming the writer was suggesting that McCain made a major mistake in picking the untested Alaska governor as his running mate.

Maybe yes, maybe no. What I always found more perplexing is that, according to widespread reports, McCain really wanted Joe Lieberman to be his VP but was talked out of it by his closest advisers.

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Here's an update on some political happenings over the weekend:

With only about 1,340 days until the election, Romney wins CPAC straw poll.

CPAC Straw Poll. This is a perfect example of my schizophrenia. I say (and truly believe!) that 2012 presidential straw polls at this point are meaningless, if not nutty ... and yet, I'm interested in every one. And so, I watched with fascination at the lines of people ready to cast their ballots at the multiple booths at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. These straw polls may all have the legitimacy of a typical Chicago election, but nonetheless, here are the results, as per CPAC:

Mitt Romney 20%
Bobby Jindal 14%
Ron Paul 13%
Sarah Palin 13%
Newt Gingrich 10%
Mike Huckabee 7%
Mark Sanford 4%
Rudy Giuliani 3%
Tim Pawlenty 2%
Charlie Crist 1%
Undecided 9%

This was Romney's third CPAC straw poll victory in a row.

The poll was taken of 1,757 people who were preregistered to attend the conference. Most of those who voted were between 18 and 25. Ninety-five percent said they disapprove of the job Barack Obama is doing as president. Fifty-five percent said they were "generally satisfied" with the potential field of GOP candidates for 2012, while 44 percent said they were not.

Sebelius for HHS. President Obama will name Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius as his secretary of health and human resources later this afternoon. This is the post that Tom Daschle was ready to take until he, oops, realized he hadn't paid $140,000 in taxes until he was nominated. Here's my political bio of Sebelius that is currently running on the home page of NPR.org.

When the Sebelius nomination is official, we will reveal our contest winner: As promised, the first person to correctly guess the next HHS secretary wins a genuine Nixon's The One campaign button from 1968. I'm not exactly sure what the correlation is between Sebelius and a Nixon button, but that's OK.

Paul Harvey dies. A legendary radio commentator (and one of the first people I remember listening to on politics as a kid on WABC in New York), Paul Harvey died Saturday at 90. A longtime conservative voice in the 1950s and '60s, Harvey broke with President Nixon on the Vietnam War in 1970, calling for a complete withdrawal of U.S. troops. ABC Radio Networks President Jim Robinson said, "Paul Harvey was one of the most gifted and beloved broadcasters in our nation's history. We will miss our dear friend tremendously and are grateful for the many years we were so fortunate to have known him." He had worked at ABC for more than 50 years.

Some final observations and thoughts after an afternoon at CPAC, the Conservative Political Action Committee, in Washington today:

-- I've been coming to CPAC since 1987, and this was the largest crowd I've ever seen. It was mobbed. More attendees, more exhibits.

-- Wherever he went, a crowd and camera crew followed Mitt Romney, who -- as always -- looked tan, rested and ready. I've said this before, but had he run for president in 2008 boosting his business acumen -- rather than as a new-right convert -- he would have stood a better chance at getting the nomination. Especially when John McCain self-imploded toward the end on the economy. Maybe all will be forgiven if he runs again. I couldn't stay for Romney's speech today, but I was told by more than one person that it hit all the right notes.

Continue reading "Fear And Loathing (And Buttons) At CPAC" >

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at a fundraiser for U.S. Rep. Wayne Gilchrest on Jan. 10, 2008, in Annapolis, Md. Rob Carr/AP

 

I've watched Newt Gingrich for quite a long time now. I've seen him up close when he was the noisy backbencher in the House (where he helped bring down a Democratic speaker), when he moved into the GOP congressional leadership, when he became speaker. When he overreached and was forced out.

And today, at CPAC -- the Conservative Political Action Conference -- in Washington, where he gave the noontime speech to a capacity crowd.

I'll admit I had a closer view of him in his earlier days; that period coincided with my stint covering the House for ABC News. Back then, in the late '80s, many reporters made the mistake of limiting their contacts on the Hill to Democrats; I suspect that's one reason why so many were blindsided when the Republicans took control in 1994.

Continue reading "Newt Always Seems Happier In The Opposition" >