We asked our ConservativeHome100, a panel of conservative insiders and influencers, who they thought emerged from CPAC last week as the winner among the 2012 presidential potentials who spoke.
Their response? Hands-down: Mitch Daniels. Two-thirds of them gave Daniels the highest marks.
We also asked our Republican Panel, our poll of self-identified conservative Republicans across the country, who they thought emerged as the winner.
Their response? Ron Paul. Not hands-down, though. Twenty-one percent favored Paul above the others. Mitt Romney came in second with just 11% of the vote.
More interesting among Republican Panel respondents is that 34%, more than selected Paul, checked the box labeled: "I don't know; I didn't really follow CPAC." Since Ron Paul won the straw poll at CPAC, it's also likely that a number of respondents were influenced by the coverage.
Whatever the case, Daniels - as much of his post-CPAC speech coverage (here's George Will yesterday, Peggy Noonan today, and Mike Gerson today) indicates - has won the affection of insiders and influencers. If Daniels decides to run, his next stop will need to be the grassroots, which for now, is dominated more by figures such as Paul, Romney, Palin, Huckabee, and Gingrich - all who have the widest name recognition.