Being a dedicated blogger can be lonely duty -- as the accompanying photo shows. When the president began his address to CPAC at 7:15 (text here), only a few bloggers were there to watch.

Though he has not addressed CPAC since the start of his presidency, Bush seemed very comfortable here. Some of his lines prompted warm and clear responses from his audience -- like the call of 'we love you,' when he spoke about the importance of reaching out lovingly to troubled soul. (Bush's answer back: 'My soul is not that troubled.') He joked about his gray hair, about Dick Cheney being a better vice president than his father was, and about critics like CodePink and MoveOn.org.

The speech overall seemed to reflect the tail end of his administration -- he explained and justified his policies on national security, spending, and social issues, while laying down a marker for his eventual successor. He didn't directly reference the presidential race, or John McCain, except (perhaps) for a reference to how he had listened to the advice of others, and decided to send more troops to Iraq:

One year ago, things were not going well in that country. Terrorists and extremists were succeeding in their efforts to plunge Iraq into chaos. You see, they wanted to deny Iraqis their liberty -- they can't stand freedom; they wanted to establish safe havens in Iraq from which to launch attacks against America and its allies. I strongly believe that America's security and peace in the world depend upon defeating this enemy. (Applause.) So we reviewed our strategy. Things weren't working, I need to know why and what it would take to make things better. And that's why you review a strategy.

I made up my mind. I listened carefully to a lot of folks. And I decided to send more troops into Iraq -- in a dramatic policy shift -- and the policy shift has become known as "the surge."

Bush sounded ambitious -- particularly on fiscal issues. He pressed for reform of entitlements and health care, while declaring himself ready to 'finish strong.' It's too bad that's essentially impossible.