Conservative Political Action Conference

It always helps to show up. Republican Herman Cain, a former chief executive of Godfather Pizza and the only declared candidate of either party for the 2012 presidential election, won a straw poll Sunday among "tea-party" supporters at a weekend policy summit in Phoenix. Cain was one of the weekend's most popular speakers. Two other presumed candidates who showed up -- U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, and former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty -- placed second and third. But the event's sponsor, Tea Party Patriots, also released separate results for online voting.

Former First Ladies Barbara and Laura Bush worked to end illiteracy. Nancy Reagan famously took on teenage drug use. Lady Bird Johnson planted flowers. But none of them have been seared for something as seemingly benign as calling for kids to eat more vegetables, as Michelle Obama has. Just about everyone will agree that the nation's children are getting fatter and that obesity is a serious health problem. But the first lady's push for healthier meals and more exercise, which marked its first anniversary this month, has provoked a backlash from the right, who complain that the only thing here that's supersized is Big Brother.

On a seeming collision course toward the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, Tim Pawlenty and Mitt Romney spoke to cheering crowds Friday at the second day of a gathering of the nation's conservatives, blasting President Obama for what they said was his failure to lead on national security and the economy. While Pawlenty, the former governor of Minnesota, and Romney, the former Massachusetts governor, have not formally declared their intentions, their White House ambitions appear more evident every day. Romney's wife, Ann, introducing him to the packed house at the Conservative Political Action Conference, came close to an admission, saying that she "hoped" to see her husband elected.

"Tea party" sentiment is pulling the Republican presidential contest to the right as would-be candidates appeal for support from the GOP's conservative base. Tea party litmus tests were dominant 2012 themes as most of the presidential contenders addressed the nation's largest annual conservative conference, which ended Saturday. Competing for straw-poll votes from thousands of activists ? who gave libertarian Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) first place ? the potential candidates sought to outdo one another in expressing their disgust with a bloated government in Washington.

Ron Paul again triumphed in the presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, overwhelming the support for most other potential Republican candidates at the annual gathering of conservatives in the nation's capital. Paul, a Republican congressman from Texas who ran for president in 2008, edged former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney 30% to 23%. The result was barely changed from last year's, when Paul won 31% to 22%. Former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson and current New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie each had 6% of the vote, followed by former House Speaker Newt Gingrich at 5%. Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, who did not speak at the three-day gathering, had 3% of the vote.

WASHINGTON -- Steaming toward a White House bid, Mitt Romney addressed CPAC on its second day Friday, charging that Barack Obama has failed to lead on national security and the economy, calling him a "weak president. " Romney was introduced by his wife, Ann, who in essence made his long-expected entry in the 2012 presidential field official by saying she hoped to see him elected. The former Massachusetts governor told a packed hotel ballroom at the Conservative Political Action Conference that "an uncertain world has been made more dangerous by the lack of clear direction.

It isn't easy to upstage Michele Bachmann and Newt Gingrich before a crowd of conservatives, but Donald Trump managed to pull it off. The developer and reality television star made a surprise cameo Thursday at the first day of the annual gathering of the nation's conservatives in Washington, saying he hasn't ruled out a bid for the Republican presidential nomination in 2012. This year's meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference, or CPAC, has taken on added importance as an early forum for possible Republican presidential candidates in 2012.

Tim Pawlenty and John Thune, two Midwesterners and possible 2012 presidential contenders, cast themselves as fiscal warriors before a receptive political action conference crowd Friday. Pawlenty, the former two-term governor of Minnesota, is likely to jump in the race, perhaps soon. Thune, a senator from South Dakota who is relatively unknown nationally but viewed as a rising star in conservative circles, is less so. Speaking to a record gathering at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, both decried what they termed a runaway expansion of government under President Barack Obama.

Newt Gingrich, speaking to a packed house Thursday at CPAC and sounding much like a Republican presidential candidate for 2012, challenged President Obama to adopt GOP policies on energy, environment and the economy to convince the American public that he's committed to a centrist approach. Along those lines, Gingrich -- speaker of the House during the Clinton administration -- said Obama should follow the lead of President Clinton, who worked with congressional Republicans on welfare reform, spending cuts and balancing the budget.

Rep. Michele Bachmann on Thursday opened up a three-day CPAC gathering of the nation's conservatives by celebrating the achievements of the "tea party" movement and warning of the policies of the Obama administration, saying that the president had "ushered in socialism. " Greeted by a raucous crowd, Bachmann, a tea-party favorite, said the movement had upended establishment Washington. "If there was ever a time to make a change, this was it and you did it," she told a packed hotel ballroom.