WASHINGTON—Over the years, whenever I walk into the swank D.C.-area hotel that’s hosting CPAC, one of nation’s biggest gatherings of conservatives, I have an immediate flashback to college.

The Conservative Political Action Conference looks and feels like a college campus. Students swarm CPAC. They come to see in person some of the nation’s top conservative political leaders. They come to visit booths set up by some of the nation’s top conservative groups. They come to attend seminars run by some of the nation’s top conservative teachers.

They also come to miss a few days of class, to stay a couple of nights in that swank hotel thanks to a steep student discount, and (maybe most importantly) to meet cool conservatives of the opposite sex. After all, one of the seminars this year was a conservative dating class.

The 2012 version of CPAC, in its 39th year, has been no different. The cavernous ballroom here erupted Friday when presidential candidate Mitt Romney gave a shout out to all the students at the conference.

Students wandered the elaborate, maze-like halls of the Marriott Wyndham hotel, gawking at the usual parade of costumed conservatives. Among the sights this year: a man in a fat suit symbolizing big government, a puppet posing as a reporter and a person in a rhinoceros outfit symbolizing Republicans in name only, or RINOS.

Using my unscientific eye test, I could not determine which Republican presidential candidate had the most sticker support. Attendees here sported Romney, Rick Santorum, and Newt Gingrich stickers in equally plentiful numbers. Surprisingly, Ron Paul, the fourth presidential candidate, who is usually a CPAC rock star thanks to his strong support among college students, choose not to attend this year’s event. … COMPLETE STORY >>

Read Edward Lee Pitts’ complete Web Extra report.