Although stuck in the single digits in the polls, Willard “Mitt” Romney proved himself second to none in pandering to the crowd at CPAC– the annual Conservative Political Action Conference. Where he shared a podium with Sean Hannity, Ann Coulter, Tom Delay, Michelle Malkin, Phyllis Schlafly, Wayne LaPierre and assorted politicians including VP Dick Cheney and GOP front-runner Rudy Giuliani. John McCain wasn’t there, maybe he still has an ounce of integrity.

Josh Marshall at Talking Points Memo has learned something we already know, ever since Romney forgot the 2002 Winter Olympics were held in Utah. Romney has a short memory. Now he’s dissing Massachusetts to milk some applause from the rightest of the right:

Watching Romney pander to every line item in the right-wing catechism in this speech is a good window into his character. …People can think what they want of Massachusetts. It’s a liberal state. It’s on one end of the spectrum of American political culture. But, not long ago, Mitt Romney was running to be the governor of that state, to represent its people. A month or so out of office, now they’re the punchline of his jokes. They’re tossed like a tissue after it’s used. And of course now he’s telling these right-wingers everything they want to hear too even though it contradicts pretty much everything he used to say he believed. He’d drop them in a flash and denigrate them too. That’s a window into who someone is. He’s dangerous.

UPDATE #1: Ann Coulter says: “Romney is the best candidate we have. …He tricked liberals into voting for him. I like a guy who hoodwinks the voters so easily.” Talking Points Memo has the pictures, Coulter literally embracing Romney before she went onstage to call John Edwards a “faggot.” Think Progress has more. Through a spokesman, Romney has said Coulter’s remark about Edwards was offensive.

UPDATE #2 Andrew Sullivan has another take on Romney’s CPAC speech.

On foreign policy, Romney was bold enough to call the Iraq fiasco “under-prepared, under-managed, under-manned and under-planned.” But he had no strategy for countering Jihadism except lots of military spending and some kind of “Marshall Plan” for moderate Muslim countries. You know a candidate has no ideas when he mentions anything like a “Marshall Plan.” But he will run on torture – that much we already know. The religious right base actually seems to believe in torture. Along with making lots and lots of money, and losing weight, torture is now apparently a one of Jesus’ core teachings.

Romney can testify to the fact our military is under-manned: neither he nor any of his five sons have ever served.