I didn’t like 300 much, but I might have to re-evaluate it after what happened in Florida.

Here’s why I’m not quite ready to make nice.

In my attempts to self-soothe in the wake of Romney’s Florida defeat, I’m poring over the details of the exit polling in search of encouraging morsels, thus far with sporadic success. Mitt beat McCain soundly among conservatives (37-29), among “issues” voters (35-27), and even edged him out among voters for whom terrorism was the most important issue (29-26).

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One of the features of the Florida primary that was supposed to distinguish it from the other contests to date was that it was a closed primary, meaning only party-registered voters could vote in their respective primaries. This was one of those alluring intangibles that hinted at a Romney advantage relative to the earlier open primaries.

And indeed, the exit polling suggests that Romney likely matched McCain among Republicans in Florida (rounded to the nearest percentage point). From where I’m sitting, it appears Mitt Romney Mitt-Romney-MBA Sep-07 might’ve won the Florida primary.

First, we conservatives are the bedrock of the GOP and, pundit betrayals and spin notwithstanding, our values are the party’s engine. They’re the party’s future. They’re worth fighting for, even if we’re outnumbered by the influx of independents in what was supposed to be a closed primary, and even if we end up with an imperfect party nominee because of that.

So we fight on. Conservatism isn’t Sparta. It’s America.