I won’t recite the litany of wrongs wrought by McCain, which reads like the middle section of the Declaration of Independence (the part they don’t read before the Super Bowl), instead I will quote my Congressman, one of the most steadfast conservatives in Washington: “Any of ours is better than any of theirs”.

There is a process for selecting a nominee- folks announce that they are running, they campaign, and then people vote. We conservatives failed by not coalescing behind a strong candidate early enough to make a difference. Some conservatives eschewed the race for having gotten macaca-d or fearing a re-airing of dirty laundry. Brownback, and Hunter, and a couple of Thompsons failed to get steam while security hawks flirted with Rudy and Evangelicals found their own favorite son.

Romney’s political past made his authenticity as a conservative doubtful, but he had resources that left him the last hope standing.

Now Romney had done the honorable thing by hanging up his campaign and seeking to help reconcile the party. An authentic right winger? Maybe yes, maybe no. A genuine class act? It certainly looks like it. If he succeeds at applying his considerable skills toward mending the rifts in our party, he will raise his profile ever more.

If he wants to take it a step further, and carry the mantle of the “party of Reagan” he can do what Reagan did after his 1976 defeat (and before it, as well), and spend his time being the positive, optimistic champion of the conservative cause. The time Reagan spent talking and listening to people in his times “out of office” helped to galvanize his views, and be able to define how conservative principals and values applied to nuts and bolts “dinner table” issues. Perhaps Romney, or another conservative, will do the same.

“Any of ours is better than any of theirs” is a crucial distinction, especially when there is a war to win.