McCain to right wingers: Come on. You have to like me now. (And, I'll pander now)

McCain truly is a right wing conservative. But every now and then, he went off the reservation -- and he loved to tweak the hard core base. Remember how he trashed Robertson and Falwell back in 2000:

I am a pro-life, pro-family fiscal conservative, an advocate of a strong defense, and yet Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell and a few Washington leaders of the pro-life movement call me an unacceptable presidential candidate. They distort my pro- life positions and smear the reputations of my supporters.

Why? Because I don't pander to them, because I don't ascribe to their failed philosophy that money is our message.

Well, he's pandering to them now. McCain needs the wingers now. He wants some love from Rush and his ilk:

John McCain, whose Super Tuesday performance has given him an aura of inevitability in the eyes of many Republican leaders, has begun an aggressive campaign to quell conservative dissent and prevent an outbreak of GOP buyer’s remorse.

The campaign, as described by Republican sources, has two pillars: outreach to talk-radio hosts and other conservative critics and a succession of high-profile endorsements in the coming days.

The effort to win over, or at least blunt the opposition, of talk-radio hosts and other movement figures who resent McCain’s maverick style and past departures from conservative orthodoxy involves both high-level surrogates and the candidate himself.

Its targets include the most influential talk-radio voice, Rush Limbaugh, who has been contacted in recent days by a McCain emissary, according to Republican sources.

Sounds like junior high school. McCain has his friends passing notes to the right wingers.

Dear Rush:

I think John McCain kinda likes you now. __Do you like him? or __Do like like him? __No way. Check one.