CPAC kicks off with Marco Rubio

2.45pm: Rick Perry surfaced at CPAC, looking cheerful and jaunty a few weeks after dropping out of the presidential race before the South Carolina primary. He told the audience, in an apparent dig at Mitt Romney: "We do the American people no great

Photos From Thursday CPAC 2012. Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, February 9, 2012, 5:40 PM. Thursday CPAC 212 Photos– Here I am with Atlas Shrugs' Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch. Rick Perry works Bloggers

In a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference, Marco Rubio extolled the promise of America and how it is being threatened by President Obama.

Photos From Thursday CPAC 2012. Posted by Jim Hoft on Thursday, February 9, 2012, 5:40 PM. Thursday CPAC 212 Photos– Here I am with Atlas Shrugs' Pamela Geller and Robert Spencer from Jihad Watch. Rick Perry works Bloggers

Thousands of conservative activists converged Thursday on Washington for CPAC. But aside from a packed hotel ballroom and a few memorable applause lines, the throngs were noticeably subdued as the yearly conservative confab kicked off.