02/11/12 CPAC released the winner of its straw poll on Saturday (Mitt Romney) but the day belonged to former Alaska Gov. and GOP Veep nominee Sarah Palin. She was the grand finale of the conference which concluded at the end of her speech.

[The crowd was riled up to see their favorite speaker of the conference.]

[Chased off the stage by a pack of feral photogs.]

[The great NYT photog Steve Crowley leans back to get best angle on the jumbotron.]