Terrance Heath

Rick Santorum arrived at CPAC today, but he was everywhere at CPAC yesterday. As David Frum noted, there were no Romney stickers to be seen at CPAC yesterday, but Santorum stickers were everywhere. (With Gingrich stickers running a close second.) As he walked onto the stage, it was evident that he has a lot of support here. This is a religious, conservative crowd, and they loved him.

Santorum walked onto the stage with most of his family in tow, and was received with enthusiastic applause. As his family formed a tableau behind him, Santorum joked. "This is not the Von Trapp family," he said. "We are not going to sing," he added a beat later after waiting for the laughter to die down. That was a relief. But then, Rick Santorum started talking.

OK. I'll admit it. Newt Gingrich got me on this one. I walked into the CPAC conference this morning with my guard down (first mistake), and picked up what I thought was up updated schedule of events for the main ballroom.

Then I read it.

I caught most of Sen. Marco Rubio's speech at CPAC this morning, and it was very well received. Based on that alone, I'd be tempted to agree with his categorization as a "CPAC darling." He's rumored to be on the short list for VP, though he says he's not interested. Of course, it probably didn't hurt that Rubio appeared at CPAC the same day he introduced legislation that could cut off contraceptive coverage for millions. That seemed to the issue that roused conservatives the most at CPAC. (I actually, I heard more about contraception from speakers than I did about gay marriage — or job creation.)

But apparently Rubio's contraceptive bill wasn't enough to endear him to everyone at CPAC.

Michele Bachmann's speech at CPAC 2012 wasn't quite the start turn that her appearance in 2011 — when Americas Bachmannia infection started spreading. I guess that's the difference between being a newly-announced presidential candidate and being a newly-dropped-out presidential candidate. (She was asked to leave. Twice. So, did she drop out or was she dismissed? A little from Column A, and a little from Column B?)

Bachman scored some laughs about the three things she learned as a presidential candidate

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.), free from the constraints of running for president, opened her speech at the 2012 Conservative Political Action Conference with a joke.

"Running for President of the United States is really one series of humiliations after another, but it's also a very educational experience," she said.

"I know where John Wayne was born."

"I know the day Elvis Presley was born."

"Thirdly, I learned never forget the three things that you learn," she said.

Then she launched into a foreign policy speech that revealed how much she has yet to learn.

I knew it was going to be a good day when the first thing I saw at CPAC was Herman Cain's bus.

I'm going to give Herman the benefit of the doubt that he sat in the front of the bus this time.

In my previous post, I wrote that I'm likely to hear an old favorite conservative talking point repeated over and over again while I'm at CPAC: Married cures poverty, economic inequality, and just about any other economic complaint you can name — especially for black folks. The 9th circuit court's ruling that California's Proposition 8 — which prohibited same-sex marriage in the state — is unconstitutional guarantees I'll hear a lot about same-sex marriage while I'm at CPAC.

What I won't hear at CPAC, besides any specific plans for job creation, is how declining marriage rates are not to blame for economic decline, but economic decline is really to blame for declining marriage rates. I won't hear that the best way to increase marriage rates is improve Americans' economic prospects by growing the economy and putting people back to work. I probably also won't hear that marriage would actually improve the economic standings of one group of Americans: gay couples.

"You gotta have a J-O-B, if you wanna be with me."

- Gwen Guthrie, "Ain't Nothin' Goin' On But The Rent"

I'm off to cover CPAC tomorrow, where — in light of a federal court ruling California's Proposition 8 unconstitutional — I'm likely to hear a favorite conservative talking point repeated: Marriage cures poverty, unemployment, and another economic problem. Ask any conservative, and they'll tell you as much — even though that particular talking point has no basis in reality.

Funny how things change. When Herman Cain and Rick Perry imploded in one week last November, Jon Stewart called Mitt Romney "the luckiest motherfudger on Earth." That was before last night's "shellacking," when Rick Santorum trounced Romney in Minnessota, Missouri, and Colorado — three states that Romney won in 2008. Whupped by the same guy who snatched away his Iowa caucus victory, it safe to say Romney is no longer "the luckiest motherfudger on Earth." That title may pass to another 2012 presidential candidate.

To his credit, Romney isn't taking this latest humiliation lying down. He's hitting Santorum with the "Washington Insider" label — and it's likely to stick.