Jason Atkinson's political comrade

A relatively fresh face in politics made quite a splash recently.

Oh, he has plenty of political experience. He grew up in a strong Republican household, watching his father's example. After making his mark in the private sector, he jumped into politics in the minority party, learning to reach across the aisle without compromising his principles.

He has a strong faith, but does not throw it in people's faces -- it is his guiding light, but not a foghorn that tells people to get out of his way.

With that background, he's reaching for higher office. He's pursuing a more powerful position, but it's clear he's not hungry for power -- he's into service. He believes he can -- with the help of the people, by empowering people instead of special interests -- make a difference.

He's still got a ways to go, but he got a boost out of a recent conference's straw poll. He was not expected to do particularly well, considering the conference typically draws attendees who would consider his faith a detriment. In addition, the poll was conducted in the backyard of one of the main candidates, virtually guaranteeing the hometown boy would win.

And yet, this fresh face finished second in the poll. Yes, the hometown boy placed first, but the fresh face impressed delegates with his human touch, with his focus on important Republican themes.

Also in this straw poll was another candidate -- the one who was running again, the one who seemed to think he should be coronated for his second try -- who made a dismal showing in the poll.

So who am I talking about? Jason Atkinson?

Yes.

But also Mitt Romney. You know him? His father was a candidate for president in 1968. He made his mark in the private sector by successfully running the Salt Lake City Olympics. Even as a Republican, he was elected governor of deep-blue Massachusetts, having to work with a huge Democrat majority in the state legislature.

Last weekend in Memphis, Tennessee, delegates to the Southern Republican Leadership Conference gathered to hear from several main contenders for the Republican presidential nomination. Bill Frist, the senate majority leader from Tennessee and rumored presidential candidate, was expected to do well in his backyard. Virginia Sen. George Allen had high hopes because his name comes up often in such discussions and because Virginia and Tennessee share more than 100 miles of common border.

Romney, who hasn't even declared his presidential intentions, was not expected to do as well because of those factors, and because many doubted that a Mormon could earn support in the Bible belt. (By contrast, the Dorchester Conference was considered a collection of moderates, many of whom are not religious, and among whom Atkinson was not expected to do well because of his conservative politics, his faith, and his lack of name familiarity.)

And sure enough, Frist won with almost 37 percent of the vote, although less than one in five Frist votes came from out of state. Romney was second with 14 percent, and Allen was four points back in third.

Sen. John McCain, who ran for president in 2000 and is listed (mostly by McCain supporters) as a leading contender in 2008, tried a bit of trickery to downplay his lack of support by urging people to write in George W. Bush for the straw poll. Kevin Mannix is no McCain, but certainly there are correlations between the would-be president (who finished a distant fifth in Tennessee) and the would-be Oregon governor (who was a distant third in Seaside).

In neither case is the straw poll a scientific example of political momentum, but as Romney told talk-show host Hugh Hewitt yesterday, "It's a lot better than a kick in the teeth, and I was very, very pleased that folks down there were pleased with me, and ended up voting for me, which . . . obviously, this is very early and not very meaningful, but of course, it's nice to have a few people think that you're a pretty good guy."

And both have attracted the attention of the blogger community. By reading this, you probably already know about the Atkinson Blogger Network. Romney, too, has his blogosphere supporters; Americans for Mitt includes supporters in 26 states, including Nancy French at Tennesseans for Mitt, which was instrumental in rallying the troops to Mitt's support at the SRLC.

Am I suggesting that the accomplishments of Atkinson parallel those of Romney? Certainly not. That's why Atkinson is running for governor, while Romney is considering the presidency. But the energy being generated by these two men -- on opposite coasts, for very different positions -- is very similar.