Romney Most Popular among Conservatives

An interesting straw poll: Mitt Romney receives most support from those attending CPAC. Giuliani is second, Brownback third, Gingrich fourth and… McCain fifth with only 12% of the vote.

McCain has made a tremendous mistake: he thought that he would be able to appeal to the conservative base while not losing support of more moderate elements within the Republican party. This straw poll indicates that he succeeds in neither.

Romney: I wrote at my own blog recently that I think that Romney might surprise a lot of people. I expect support for him to rise significantly during the next couple of months.

UPDATE
The always insightful Andrew Sullivan agrees. Andrew:

I know what the national polls say. I know he makes John Kerry look like a stopped clock on, well, anything. But he’ll have an understanding with the religious base: I’ll do whatever you want, give you the judges you want, and you’ll forgive me for being a Mormon. He has no core principles, and they understand that. What matters to Dobson et al is results. They’ve had enough of men like Bush who are sincere evangelicals but useless in actually implementing the theocon agenda. Romney’s their tool – and a very competent, effective one. And they are his tool. It’s a solid basis for a political marriage. I think he’s the most formidable long-term candidate on the right. Up against Clinton, he’d probably win.

Will it become a (close) race between Giuliani and… Romney?