With the exit of Mitt Romney, John McCain now carries the title of standard bearer of the Republican Party.  Although he says he will soldier on, Mike Huckabee is merely a footnote in the nomination process —all the more so now that Romney is out of the running. Huckabee always was and will never be more than a strictly regional candidate. McCain gave a good speech at the CPAC conference, and to his credit, he did not try to sugar coat the fact that, he has serious disagreements with conservatives on a number of important issues. Still, I could detect, lurking or inchoate in the background in his conciliatory attempt the grating self-righteousness, the sanctimony, the obstinate refusal to yield or compromise on many issues that he views as nothing short of crusades(McCain/Feingold; Guantanamo, etc.).

But talk, as they say, is cheap. His speech was a first good step in trying to repair the rift between himself and the party's base, but McCain needs to do more if he hopes to solidify his support for the general election. McCain says he has learned from his mistakes on the disastrous immigration bill he co-authored with Ted Kennedy. But has he really? During the speech, McCain made the somewhat dubious assertion that the chief complaint of conservative critics of his immigration bill was the "rule of law" objection. This is true as far as it goes, but the bill was so fundamentally flawed in so many other ways, that to suggest that the blanket grant of amnesty was its only shortcoming is disingenuous. He also stated his "secure the borders first" pledge. But this promise, in and of itself is wholly meaningless. He said during the immigration debate during the summer that his bill did secure the border. The problem was that there were so many provisions in his bill that watered down the border security aspect that it was illusory.

The fact of the matter is that McCain has not only gleefully operated outside of the bounds of the Republican Party, he has many positions that make it hared to distinguish him from the opposition party. Trying to paper over these differences will not facilitate unification of the party but rather, will lead to more disenchantment.