It’s not often that a former UN ambassador will get a heartier round of applause than the sitting vice president, but it happened at CPAC tonight. John Bolton, who was seated at the head table, received multiple standing ovations, including a spontaneous one upon being introduced at dinner. That’s not to take anything away from Vice President Cheney, but it’s a reflection on the feelings that conservatives harbor about the White House.

Cheney’s speech, in my estimation, was an improvement from last year’s address, which I panned at the time, calling it “a boilerplate address.” Cheney’s remarks on the war are most certainly his strong suit, but he also excelled tonight on issues ranging from government spending to the strong U.S. economy.

Before he got rolling, Cheney paid tribute to the others who were in the spotlight Thursday night, including master of ceremonies Michael Steele, whom Cheney said had “a great future in American politics.” He also noted the military involvement of American Conservative Union President David Keene’s daughter, who spent a year in Iraq.

Cheney seemed to feel more comfortable at the podium this year, taking swings at the Democrat-led Congress, particularly on the non-binding war resolution recently passed by the House. He promised that President Bush and he “won’t abandon the conservative principles we ran on in 2000 and 2004.”

Bolton, meanwhile, gave a moving speech about the role America must play in the world and the challenges we face from enemies. The most rousing line in the speech was his quip about firing Kofi Annan — something he wishes the UN had done while Annan was still in charge.

Bolton also went out of his way to sincerely thank the supporters who wrote letters to Congress, called their senators and did whatever was asked of them to support him during his confirmation fight. Unfortunately for Bolton and the American people, it wasn’t meant to be. Fortunately for us, Bolton isn’t giving up the fight for America.