John McCain received a warm introduction from George Allen and Tom Coburn, but not so much from the audience. At first, McCain looked a bit uncomfortable, but quickly adopted the attitude of a man accepting his party's nomination ("I'd be deeply humbled and honored to receive your nomination..."). In that tradition, McCain sought to demonstrate his conservative bona fides to a skeptical crowd. Among the highlights:
On missing CPAC last year: "I was merely preoccupied with the distinction of being the Republican frontrunner..."
