Will He Draw Back a Nub After the CPAC Speech?

John McCain will speak before CPAC today--the most influential and powerful conservative political action committee in the country.

The question is, after the speech is given, will McCain be in a much stronger position after reassuring conservatives, or will he 'draw back a nub,' as in, 'he put his arm in the tank and drew back a nub'?

Giving a speech before this group is sort of like putting one's hand in a tank full of sharks for McCain. As much as he has expressed disdain for many within the conservative ranks through the years, if he says the wrong thing we can rest assured that those sharks will leave him with a nub instead of an arm, or even worse.

In order for McCain to hit a grand slam at today's meeting he MUST address the following four key issues.

One, he must repudiate McCain-Feingold and, frankly, apologize for the manner in which this terrible bill has squelched free speech. He can do this and save face by claiming he did not know that the bill would be interpreted the way it has and promise that he will fight to protect ALL free speech.

Two, he must be clear that he supports only legal immigration. This means that illegals get no special pathway to citizenship, particularly in light of the fact that they broke the law. He must also make it abundantly clear that so-called 'sanctuary cities' are disgraceful and a travesty of American law.

Three, he must make a forceful statement in support of the Second Amendment....meaning, the INDIVIDUAL CITIZENS have a right to own and bear firearms. Stating that he supports Heller in the D.C. case would be even better.

Four, he must address why he wants to make the Bush tax cuts permanent when he voted twice against them when they were first proposed. Either McCain is a tax-cut proponent, or he's not. He cannot ride the fence on this issue and be acceptable to conservatives.

Glossing over these glaring shortcomings--in the eyes of conservatives--will not be enough, neither will stating that he 'hears and understands the concerns of conservatives' while issuing a continued determination to do the very things we deplore.

In fact, such a thing will spell disaster for his candidacy among the conservative base, without which he CANNOT win the Presidency.

Clearly, McCain needs us more than we need him. And unless we hear to our satisfaction that the candidate intends to take our concerns seriously in terms of public policy in his administration, he can kiss our support good-bye.