Romney had the undivided attention of the conference as he spoke. The room was packed, folks were lined up outside trying to get in, and security blocked the doors. Each of the TVs scattered around the hotel was surrounded by a few waves of conference participants, hanging on each word.

All I can think is that it's amazing to see such enthusiasm for a candidate who excited very few people as recently as the start of the primaries. As one prominent Mitt backer commented to me, they could have used this enthusiasm a few months ago.

It seems as if the specter of a John McCain candidacy united a broad swath of conservatives (though not all) behind Mitt Romney. Perhaps in a few months a Hillary Clinton nomination will unite all Republicans behind John McCain. Hopefully that will work out better.

A few other items: Erick Erickson says he hears that Romney may endorse McCain before the end of the day. Ed Morrissey live-blogged the speech.