RE: RE: McCain rejects CPAC invite

Maybe, but he's still second, following Giuliani. There's your Republican race. Excited?

I tend to agree, but in an interesting twist, both the Libertarian and Constitution parties have endorsed Ron Paul in '08. That could make for interesting times in states with open primaries. What a clear dichotomy: Ron Paul, a strong libertarian lines up against McCain and Giuliani, a fascist and a neo-Marxist, respectively. The GOP will be identifying its core values for a generation to come in this primary.

Further, why should McCain address the "nation's premier gathering of conservatives"? He's not all that conservative, is he?

McCain isn't conservative at all, regardless of how many times the mainstream media tries to portray him as such. He also knows that CPAC is enemy territory. Jim Robinson, of Free Republic, is a major force at CPAC and he has written an open letter to McCain calling him a "treasonous bastard." I don't know about keeping it real, but McCain almost certainly acted out of concern for his political hide.