Dancing with the stars in Orange County

I mentioned something bloggable happened this weekend. What it was, was a trip to Newport Beach (between LA and San Diego) to see Donald Rumsfeld receive the Claremont Institute's Churchill Award. It was an outstanding event and it was downright inspiring. Getting to hobnob with that many smart conservatives was a rare treat.

I am, on balance, a Rumsfeld fan. His speech, posted at NRO (minus the initial thank you's ) is worth your while and I notice he maintains his commitment to keeping the U.S. military adaptable and responsive to assymetric (unrestricted?) warfare.

These enemies have learned a crucial lesson about warfare in the 21st century — a lesson others seem slow in understanding. Today’s conflicts are not only won on the battlefield, but through the use of websites and blogs, over the airwaves and on the front pages of our newspapers. Through skillful propaganda operations, the enemy successfully leverages their asymmetric attacks to encourage potential recruits to join their violent cause and to try to convince those of us in free nations to give in to hopelessness, self-doubt and despair.

Their decentralized networks have been able to effectively employ the tools of the Information Age, while the U.S. government remains ponderous, muscle-bound and unable to respond in real time to the deceits of these enemies.

The Churchill comparison to Rumsfeld was made by...I think it was Bill Bennett, but it might have been Claremont president Brian Kennedy. Churchill fought a good war and was promptly retired by a rather ungrateful British population. The British, however, waited till the war was over.

To be honest, the thing I enjoyed even more than Rumsfeld's speech was getting to meet people I'd only heard of online. I saw one guy with a nametag that said "Pat Dollard" and it was the Pat Dollard of Young Americans fame. Pat told me his Iraq movie had been accepted by Showtime, and it would run in eight parts, focusing mainly on his footage of the fighting in Ramadi. I think that's outstanding and probably even better than a theatrical release; it'll give him a chance to get more of his footage out there.

Also extremely cool: I noticed a fellow with a nametag that said "Michael Ramirez". I told him I knew of an editorial cartoonist by that name and sure enough, that's him. He's one of not too many conservatives to win a Pulitzer Prize, and after meeting him I'm not surprised. The guy is sharp as a tack, scary-well-informed, and a whole lot of fun. He told some great stories about hanging around Cuba, trying to convert his secret service minder away from capitalism, and generally making an ass of himself and trying (unsuccessfully) to get arrested. (The LA Times, in their infinite wisdom, let him go a while back. Firing Pulitzer-winning staff must be one of the reasons for their spectacular success.)

One thing was interesting by its absence--as I circulated and visited with people, no one was really talking about the primary. People were talking about issues, and knocking the Clintons, but I didn't hear a debate all night about Mitt v. Huck v. Rudy v. Fred. I would chalk that up to an admirable conservative reticence to bring up such a divisive topic. I think everyone knew the field is open, and that most of us have our favorites, and there were much more interesting things to be discussed.

I'm sorry I didn't get to drop in on any of my favorite LA area bloggers, but this was kind of a last-minute thing on my part and I had to get back home the next morning. I hope to catch up with them pretty soon, though, next time I'm through.

FULL DISCLOSURE: I was a guest of Claremont at this event, and I had received a small fellowship from them in the past. They don't know I run this blog.

Also, despite the title, no actual dancing occurred. Wouldn't be prudent. Not gaah dewit.