There will be plenty of time to comment in the coming days on the Lungren candidacy. And let this comment right now be no indication of opposition to (or support for) John Boehner, who on some things has fought the good fight for years. But let it be said that Lungren is an underappreciated hero of the conservative cause. Yes, he ran a bad campaign for governor of California in 1998, but other than that he has been one of the best of the best. He was one of five co-founders (Gingrich, the pre-beltwayed Lott, Kemp, and I forget the fifth, maybe Bob Walker) of the Conservative Opportunity Society in the early 1980s, which was one of the most important (and too often forgotten now) groups in the development of the conservative movement’s long march to congressional ascension that finally culminated in the four years of the Gingrich speakership. Lungren is a good, good man. It is a good thing that he is engaged in the leadership process.