I’d been supposing that McCain would make his big appeal to conservatives at CPAC later this week, but I’m with Jonah in seconding John Hood: This is looking like a big night for John McCain, and he shouldn’t waste it on mere celebration, making a major appeal to conservatives right now. This is the moment for a speech that proves gracious and dignified, that conveys McCain’s own sense of the high duty that now appears likely to descend upon him, and he should reach out, very explicitly, to conservatives.

I’ve never met Mark Salter, McCain’s longtime speechwriter, but you can’t read a McCain text without admiring Salter’s work. Here’s to hoping that Salter has already picked up a pen and pad to begin scratching notes.