I was curious last night to see how the conservative movement reacted to the NYT/McCain story: chance to dump McCain before the convention, or chance to use the NYT as a foil to firm up conservative support for the expected nominee.

It appears that folks are doing the latter, for now, and waiting to see if more shoes drop. The loyalty for McCain is non-existent. And he's not even polling well against Obama. They will shove him off the stage if they have a clear opportunity.

Granted, McCain may poll better than anyone else. But many conservatives would rather lose Goldwater-style -- in a blaze of glory, while laying down clear conservative markers -- than lose Dole-style.