At least we know now why no one at the White House had time to ask job applicants if they paid their taxes. Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel was too busy pushing earmarks he couldn't get as a congressman and organizing attacks on Rush Limbaugh.

Those things take time, especially if you also have to convince taxpayers that you're serious about budget reform while cramming almost 9,000 earmarks into a bloated spending bill.

And with Emperor W and Darth Cheney gone, a new face of the Republican Dark Side is needed.

The Rush thing is likely a fallback. If President Obama revives the economy, wins the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, prevents Iran from going nuclear, brings peace to the Middle East, and stops the oceans from rising, then start writing that second inaugural address. But if Obama falls short, the reason will be obvious: That guy on the radio.

It's possible the public would buy that. But what if, in 2010 or 2012, the country wants an alternative? Will Republicans be ready to step up?

The answer could be found at last weekend's Conservative Political Action Conference.

For now, the answer is no. There are numerous internal disagreements. There's no real national election strategy. In terms of policy, conservatives are on the sidelines. They have sound alternatives to offer, but they don't have the floor.

However, they are laying the groundwork to take advantage of any openings next year.

Start with policy. The conference's keynote speaker was Paul Ryan, the ranking Republican on the House Budget Committee, who ripped his party for "losing direction, sacrificing principles, and failing to offer a vision relevant to most Americans."

But signing on to an irresponsible stimulus package — the opening salvo of Obama's "new era of responsibility" — was not the way to go, Ryan said. He noted, "My 7-year-old daughter showed more restraint when she put together her Christmas list for Santa Claus."

Then he offered some budgetary and economic alternatives:

Tie the dollar to a standard of stable value to help prevent wild fluctuations of prices for gasoline and other commodities.

Simplify the tax code down to two lower rates, 10 and 25 percent, depending on income.

Develop market-based, portable, universal health-care insurance.

Reform the federal budget process, and impose a spending cap of about 18 percent of GDP.

Also at the conference, Newt Gingrich offered his own pro-growth agenda, including investments in energy and transportation; payroll-, income- and business-tax relief; abolishing capital gains taxes; homeowner assistance; promoting U.S. energy resources and saving the secret ballot for workers in union elections. (See www.americansolutions.com.)

On the politics side, there were plenty of calls to arms and shots at Demo-crats. Gingrich, for example, urged voters to elect people who will read bills before they vote.

But there also were more-measured bits of electoral wisdom. One came from Texas Sen. John Cornyn, who is in charge of the Republicans' Senate campaign.

Cornyn said his goal was to find candidates who fit their states — not his conservative ideology. In 2006, a similar strategy allowed liberal, pro-choice Democrats to turn to candidates such as the pro-life Bob Casey in Pennsylvania and ultimately to win the Senate.

Acknowledging the anger at the three GOP senators who voted for the stimulus package, including Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter, Cornyn nevertheless warned, "I'm occasionally frustrated by the way my colleagues vote. But a circular firing squad is no solution to the problems the party has."

TV host and former congressman Joe Scarborough advised candidates to think about tone as they campaign. Remember the optimism and can-do spirit of Ronald Reagan, he advised.

If anything, the weekend showed that no one person is calling the shots among conservatives and Republicans. They are a movement and a party in recovery. But there's also plenty of potential.

Kevin Ferris is a columnist with the Philadelphia Inquirer.