The good news for Sen. John McCain this morning is that former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson has a column in the Washington Post full of effusive praise:

Ultimately, however, judgment matters more than temperament in a president. And stepping back a moment from the past few years, McCain’s judgment on the big issues deserves grudging respect from conservatives. McCain has been right about the conduct of the Iraq war… McCain has been right on the issue of torture… And McCain has been right — heroically and suicidally right — on the issue of immigration.

The bad news for Sen. John McCain is that Michael Gerson’s praise may not help him where he needs it, as Gerson’s last column irked more than a few people on the right:

Today, in both parties, fundamentalism is again the fashion; authenticity is the prime directive. Talk-radio conservatism assaults the most obviously Catholic elements of Bushism — a role for government in compassion and a welcoming attitude toward immigrants. “Purity” is defined as the empathy of Tom DeLay and the racial sensitivity of Tom Tancredo.

For seemingly the millionth time, there is a difference between a “welcoming attitude” toward immigrants and a “welcoming attitude” toward illegal immigrants. And while I’m no fan of Tancredo, when a Bush speechwriter critiques a Republican presidential candidate’s “racial sensitivity,” does it help anyone except the Democrats?

In fact, if you’re trying to win over conservatives, I’d avoid the term, “a role for government in compassion.”