Over on the home page, my Thursday dispatch from CPAC:

Washington, D.C. — As bleary-eyed reporters settled into the press pen on the mezzanine level of the Marriott Wardman Park early Thursday, black coffees and laptops in hand, the grand ballroom of the sprawling hotel in northwest Washington was already a bustling spectacle. Tea Party grandmas, red-faced students, and suited politicos laughed and marked seats with overcoats; activists congregated. Clumps of crowd, segregated by the stickers and pins they wore — Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, Young America’s Foundation, College Republicans — dotted the room. One battalion unfurled Gadsden flags, folding them neatly upon their laps, waiting for the right moment to wave; another brought out plastic bags stuffed with crackers and candy — munching up for the long day ahead. I saw two young men with Mitt Romney pins; I saw at least ten who wore stickers announcing their affection for Gary Johnson, the pot-smoking former governor of New Mexico.
Outside of the cavernous, carpeted hangar, groups of the Right set up shop, advertising their DVDs, pamphlets, and liberty-loving products. Top-40 tunes and lighthearted country blasted from the speakers. It was a bazaar, a festival, a revival — and it was only 9 a.m.

More here.