Here's a link to my feature over on the CQ Politics main site today about how John McCain and conservative talk radio have begun to heal their often tumultuous relationship. It almost goes without saying: Sarah Palin was a silver bullet:

McCain's recent moves to the right also appear to be making inroads with evangelical Christian talk show hosts. Lee Michaels and Jeff Shell, co-hosts of the KKMS Live! With Jeff & Lee show, based out of Eagan, Minn., say their listeners have been responding more positively to McCain than in recent months.

"We're an arena of ideas. It's our job to put information out there so our listeners can make up their own minds," Michaels said. "But we come at this with a conservative perspective and a Christian world view. Sarah Palin is a huge asset. I think it was a turning point for [Focus on the Family President] James Dobson and many others."

Here in St. Paul, conservative talk show radio hosts occupy a long hallway leading into the Excel Center. Much like the conservative blogosphere, the conservative and evangelical airwaves have not always been the warmest enclave for John McCain. But in talking with some of them today, I have found a sea change in their outlook towards the soon-to-be anointed Republican nominee, and much of that has to do with Sarah Palin.

Even Rush Limbaugh seems to have come around.

"He's always been a strong pro-life candidate," said Jeff Shell, co-host of KKMS Live! with Jeff & Lee, based in Eagan, Minnesota. "But [Palin] energized the evangelical base and sucked the air out of Obama's nomination."

"It's been a huge boost," added his co-host Lee Michaels. "Defense and national security have always been strengths for him with our listeners. And the Rick Warren Saddleback Forum helped a lot. Warren is an example of how important evangelicals still are and it really increased the enthusiasm for the Republican ticket."

"Maybe one in twenty have been disappointed with the Palin pick," said Lars Larson of KXL in Portland, Oregon and his Westwood One national affiliate. "Sarah Palin has far more executive experience than Obama."

I'll have more on the influence of talk radio at the Republican National Convention later this week. But the message here is that conservative talk radio was not able to derail McCain's drive for the Republican nomination and they aren't likely to be a drag on his general election effort either.

To have your name, or story, mentioned on Rush Limbaugh's radio show is sort of like having it mentioned on the Drudge Report. If you're a conservative, you've likely produced something that aligns with their political leanings. If you're a liberal, it's probably because you've said something they found to be outrageous.

Nation correspondent Ari Melber was on C-SPAN earlier this week discussing what he believes was a dishonest, and potentially illegal, effort by Limbaugh ("Operation Rush,") to get Republicans to crossover in the Ohio Democratic primary to vote for Hillary Clinton. Word got back to Limbaugh, and he went after Melber during yesterday's broadcast.