The 35th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) will kick off today. There will be a lot riding on this year’s meeting as the Republican Party tries to rally around one figure to lead it’s agenda for hopefully the next four years.

Mitt Romney, John McCain, Ron Paul and Mike Huckabee will each speak, presenting their best case for the Republican nomination this year. All will seek to impress, empower and enforce their credibility and electability to those in attendance. However, none so much as John McCain who will need to use this venue to deliver the knockout blow to the skepticism about his conservative credentials. He will have to bring out the stark differences in the way he will govern versus the way Clinton or Obama will govern. That should be his only angle, his only purpose. No pandering, no painting a picture when the scene isn’t there.

McCain is going to have to be McCain and use his sternness and absoluteness when bringing out the dangers of a Democratic White House, empowered by a Democratic controlled congress.

He’ll have to deliver the alternative to Harry Reid’s socialism and rabid defeatism, Clinton’s bankrupting Health-care agenda, Nanci Pelosi’s undermining policies and radical left agenda in foreign policy , Barack Obama’s planned tax increases and his ideas of a very liberal society. McCain can focus the attention squarely on the real threat facing the country and sell himself as the best possible option to prevent radicalism from turning our country down a dangerous path to socialism.

McCain is not a conservative, not in the sense we prefer, and there is no way he can convince any otherwise. What he can do is this: make the Democrats the opponent and and the object of scorn. Stick to five basic principles that will govern his decisions and motivations while in the White House, curb government spending, reduce taxes, repair our armed forces and continue military operations, protect the sanctity of life and select constitutional judges.

McCain may find allies if he chooses to articulate the dangers and realities of a Democratic controlled government.