Santorum, Romney Woo Conservatives

Rick Santorum and Mitt Romney have given their speeches to the Conservative Political Action Conference (Newt Gingrich goes on later), and the themes were no surprise:

• Romney: "I fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but I was a severely conservative Republican governor," he said. Romney again emphasized that he "never worked a day in Washington," in contrast to Santorum and Gingrich. More at USA Today.

• Santorum: He got a rousing welcome from the CPAC crowd, notes the Washington Post, and he presented himself as the true conservative in the race. “Conservatism did not fail our country," he said. "Conservatives failed conservatism. I think we have learned our lesson. And the lesson is that we will no longer abandon and apologize for the principles that made this country great—for a hollow victory in November.”
• Joke's on Romney: Santorum's billionaire backer, Foster Friess, drew boos and laughter from the crowd with this line: “A conservative, a liberal and a moderate walked into a bar. The bartender says, ‘Hi, Mitt!’"

(More CPAC stories.)