John McCain’s blogger outreach guy, Patrick Hynes (originally from Ankle Biting Pundits), has made a debut on the official McCain blog. Stop in and say hello after you read “Biography as character witness.”

Congratulations to Patrick for the well-deserved recognition in the Washington Times today, too!

Even as talk radio was brutalizing Sen. John McCain in the Republican presidential primaries, conservative bloggers reached a respectful truce with the Arizona senator over touchy issues and gave him what the campaign called a “tremendous positive psychological” boost.

The main reason: Mr. McCain’s blogger outreach, the most extensive of any presidential campaign in either party, helped keep him afloat in the dark days last summer when the major press was sizing up his campaign grave. During those times, Mr. McCain got attention and digital ink from the bloggers he invited to biweekly conference calls, and got a chance to talk policy.

I’ve always said it was Hynes whom I credit for bringing me around, just as the article says. His impact on this election has been immense, and I expect it will serve him well in the future. I’ll write more about this later. For now, go read.

Patrick Ruffini

My friend Justin Hart (a Romney supporter from day one) says about Mitt campaigning for John McCain,

He has his eye on the real issue… President Obama or Clinton would be very, very bad.

Governor Romney is a good man, and knows what’s at stake in this election. His support will be crucial-and much appreciated.

Heh heh, with a tip from Scrapiron, via Betsy’s Page

Republicans yesterday (Thursday) forced Sen. Barack Obama to vote against what they labeled his own $1.4 trillion spending plan, cobbled together from his presidential campaign promises….[Snip]

Republicans’ “Obama spend-o-rama” amendment epitomized the day.

Sen. Wayne Allard, the Colorado Republican who is retiring after this year, offered the amendment, though as he explained on the floor to Sen. Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, “It wasn’t my idea.”

That came after Mr. Schumer, walking by his desk, was heard in the gallery telling Mr. Allard, “You’re such a…” as his voice trailed off and became unintelligible to those in the galleries surrounding the Senate floor.

Mrs. Clinton, eager to make sure her opposition was recorded, voted twice — once from the desks and, in case the clerk didn’t notice, she strode into the well of the Senate to be certain.

Near the end of the allotted time, Mr. Obama, who had been in an office just off the Senate floor conferring with a group of senators who back his presidential bid, strode to the floor with those supporters and all of them voted no.

The Illinois senator looked over the chamber and demanded to know who orchestrated the stunt. Spotting Mr. Allard, he yelled to him, “You working this hard?”

“Vote yes,” Mr. Allard shot back — though even he didn’t vote for the amendment himself, drawing a rebuke from Sen. Barbara Boxer, California Democrat: “Did you vote against your own amendment?”

Yes, he did!

Betsy points to Don Surber, who writes

Even Sen. Obama voted against President Obama.

Can we promise crap we have absolutely no intention of delivering?

YES WE CAN!

I’m hoping the RNC and The Man will remember this come general election time.

This post at Red State just made my whole day, even more than John McCain’s clinching the nomination did (considering its inevitability, anyway).

As of this morning, I am a registered Republican. I’ve never voted in a primary, and though I consider myself a conservative (albeit a libertarian-minded conservative), I have never actually voted for a Republican presidential candidate. But this year is different. Today, I voted in the Republican primary for John McCain.

A lot of people around these parts express their support for McCain, but it is always hedged with some form of disappointment. Let me tell you, folks, I am excited about John McCain.

Please go read all of it.

I’ve been arguing until I’ve turned blue in the face for some time now that THIS is why John McCain can not only win the election, but can make the Republican Party (and by extension, conservatism) appealing again. I won’t repeat my arguments here, but I’ve made them here, here, here, and most recently, here (as well as in countless other blog comments). This isn’t the year for a pure conservative, like it or not, and we don’t need to have another Barry Goldwater sacrificial lamb for the conservative movement, thank you. Not when we’re at war. This is a time when people want to see less of the partisan warfare-the phony unity message of Obama proves that much. (Apparently a lot of people still don’t realize just how far left Obama is-yet-but some do.) As much as I personally wish it weren’t so, conservatism has lost its appeal to a majority of Americans in recent years, and conservatives need to plant seeds to grow the movement again, if they/we want to see it flourish. Only John McCain can do that, by bringing independents into the fold. Those independents may not all go for the full conservative agenda, but some will. And more to the point, they won’t be voting Democrat and sending the political center even further leftward.

There are plenty of Reagan Democrats around who are now committed conservatives, and it took an figure like Reagan to plant those seeds. John McCain isn’t Ronald Reagan, but he IS John McCain. He has a different appeal, and it works because he is the right prescription for today’s ills. Most importantly, he is the right person to take on the enormous responsibility of being President of the United States in this era. I am elated welcoming new Republican voters into our big tent, regardless of where they came from, in our shared goal of electing John McCain.

Snoopy dance!