As I wrote in the Boston Herald this week, John McCain didn't win this nomination. Everyone else lost it.

Mitt Romney had every chance—and then some—to win this nomination. He campaigned hard, and with lots of money, in every key primary state. And in every key state where his father never served as governor, he lost. He came, he saw (and was seen), and he got 31% of the vote. He wasn't defeated by McCain. He's just a mediocre candidate.

The same for Fred Thompson. He had the ultimate coin of the realm—celebrity—and topped out at 15%. And don't blame his lousy campaign. Unlike Huck, people knew Thompson already. He didn't need Michael Deaver or Jim Carville to work political magic. But twice as many people in South Carolina said yes to McCain than Thompson. Who's fault is that?

Guiliani? He had every advantage in the world, and fell faster than a sorority girl's undergarments. Great mayor, crummy candidate.

All a conservative had to do to be the nominee this year was beat a Scoop Jackson Democrat who supports open borders and higher taxes in a Republican primary. How hard is that?

Too hard, apparently for Thompson, Rudy, and Romney.

The lesson: You can't beat somebody with nobody. So how about it, conservatives—who you got for 2012?