Romney is easily the best-positioned, the most well-funded, the most articulate choice we have left for 2012. Those who ridiculed Romney in 2008 must take a second look at him now. Those who refuse will do so at their own peril. No Fred Thompson, no Rudy Giuliani, no Ron Paul or any other dark horse or candidate we beg to come out of the woodwork and save us.

Now let me be clear, I like Sarah Palin. I always have. I think she’s a star of our party. She’s incredibly intelligent, very tenacious and an excellent governor. I do believe this was an unfortunate move for her. But if it was not clear before, it definitely is now: Mitt Romney must be our nominee in 2012.

Romney, though a staunch rival of McCain in the primaries, was rather gracious in his CPAC concession, which is something McCain might appreciate more than we realize. Plus, Karl Rove, the reason President Bush is still in office, is pushing for Romney.

I don’t think paranoia of Huckabee-frenzied evangelicals be much of a detractor for Romney. Besides, it’d be much better than Ridge or Lieberman. Money could be a two-edged sword for Romney though, considering it would be a tremendous benefit for McCain fundraising-wise and a negative in the “multiple houses” column.

Pawlenty and Cantor are safe bets, sure. Lieberman could pull in the moderates and independents as Dick Morris has suggested, but that would still be a large gamble in and of itself.

However, I find Cantor extremely unlikely (he’s currently around the Carly Fiorina section of InTrade). Pawlenty is roughly as beneficial as Biden is to Obama.

Romney could energize the conservative base like no other. Unless that other is perhaps Fred Thompson, who does not appear to be on any shortlist I’ve seen. So that leaves us with Romney, the best choice for McCain’s running mate.