Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio is going to be the keynote speaker at CPAC.

CPAC Director Lisa De Pasquale made the announcement on the conference’s Twitter feed.

“We chose Rubio because he is an upcoming leader. He is someone that a lot of people are excited about,” De Pasquale told POLITICO. “His name keeps getting brought up and we decided that he would be a good keynote for 2010.”

He is an excellent choice. As Allahpundit said at Hot Air:

It’s an easy pick because there’s no pol in America aside from Sarahcuda whom the base is more excited about, and he needs this exposure a lot more than she does. It’s essentially a huge, free advertisement for his Senate campaign with all the earned media that goes along with that. And of course it’s a great advertisement for conservatives too: He’s young, charismatic, and a minority, which makes him almost the polar opposite of the standard media caricature of right-wingers.

My guess is that the crowd at CPAC is going to love this choice. He is extremely popular with party activist, going 12-0 in straw polls, winning most by huge margins.

The race between Rubio and Crist is being touted as an indicator of conservative sentiment and power. CPAC may give Rubio the name recognition he needs, and then the real test can begin.

So, I’m sitting here listening to Rush and reading the reaction to Romney’s announcement at CPAC. The thought occurs to me that in all of the discussion about Romney dropping out of the race, McCain and his upcoming speech this afternoon, and all the rest of the talk about the GOP primary, I don’t recall seeing much of any discussion about Huckabee.

I know that he is even further away from winning the nomination than Romney was, but I would think that there would be some discussion of his prospects and influence to the remainder of the race. Or is he so irrelevant that such a discussion isn’t necessary.

This claim is popping up all over right now. Ed is liveblogging Romney’s speech.

Rush says that they have received a note from the Romney campaign confirming the rumors.

It’s True. Blue Crab Boulevard has the quote via Time

I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters… many of you right here in this room… have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.

This certainly changes things, doesn’t it.

CPAC is under way in DC. With neither enough vacation time nor money I’ll have to enjoy the proceedings via the bloggers who are in attendance. Fausta has a list, and Rob (N.Z. Bear) Nepal is aggregating posts at Kithbridge.

Ed Morrisey liveblogged Vice President Cheney’s speech. My favorite quote:

11:10 – “The absence of another 9/11 is not an accident — it is an achievement.” That gets by far the biggest response. Everyone is on their feet.

Mitt Romney should be speaking around 12:30 (Eastern) and John McCain around 3:00. Mark Steyn and Ron Paul are also scheduled to speak today.

My friend Rick Moran has obtained an advance copy of John McCain’s CPAC speech for Right Wing Nut House. Here’s part:

SPEECH FOR THE CONSERVATIVE RABBLE AT CPAC===

My fellow conservatives. (Duck)

My thanks for that warm greeting. I was unaware that the salad portion of the meal would be delivered in such a unique manner although someone should talk to the chef about the freshness of the produce in his kitchen.

I would like to thank all of you for your generous support of my campaign. (Hit the dirt.) For those of you who may not see eye to eye with me on an issue or two, allow me to explain why you are wrong and I am right.

Go read the rest. Computer Screen Beverage Protection Protocols are in effect.