Republican Candidates Courting the Conservative Voter

March 2, 2007 — -- The Conservative Political Action Conference taking place in Washington, D.C., is Republican 2008 central. More than a half dozen GOP presidential candidates are speaking to the annual gathering of conservative political activists.

But one White House hopeful not present is the man whom many political prognosticators saw as the early front-runner: Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.

"The definition of conservative is what you believe, not which meetings you attend," McCain spokesperson Matt David told ABC News.

McCain, who is spending Friday in Utah and Arizona, has many conservative supporters around the country who respect his staunch support for the Iraq War and his opposition to government waste.

But his absence from this year's gathering has been made "more conspicuous," according to an aide to one of his rivals, because of the decision on the part of former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani to appear.

Giuliani, like McCain, has his share of conservative apostasies, including a record of supporting abortion rights, gay rights and gun control.

But unlike McCain, Giuliani has come to CPAC to make the case that his core record is one that conservatives can support. His remarks -- which emphasized a Reaganesque combination of lower taxes, work not welfare and peace through strength -- were enthusiastically received by the standing-room-only crowd.

"We don't all see eye to eye on everything," said Giuliani, before saying to laughter, "I don't agree with myself on everything."

"The point of a presidential election," Giuliani continued, "is to figure out who do you believe the most, and what do you think are the most important things for this country at a particular time."

Speaking before Giuliani took the stage, Gov. Mike Huckabee, R-Ark., a Giuliani rival for the GOP nomination who opposes abortion rights, took a thinly veiled swipe at Giuliani on the issue.

"Frankly, I'm a little disappointed when I hear people say, 'I hate abortion, but I don't believe we ought to regulate it," said Huckabee.