GOP’s hopefuls crowd town they love to hate

? Republicans who may want President Barack Obama’s job flocked to the town they love to hate this weekend for the Conservative Political Action Conference and repeatedly ripped into the Democrat, an early tryout of sorts for the GOP nomination.

“Barack Obama has created at least three jobs that I know of: Bob McDonnell, Chris Christie and Scott Brown,” former House speaker Newt Gingrich told a fawning crowd Saturday, celebrating recent GOP victories in governor’s races in Virginia and New Jersey, and the Senate in Massachusetts, respectively.

He predicted Republicans would take back control of Congress this fall and added: “We’ll elect a new president in 2012.”

Rep. Ron Paul won the most support for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination in an unofficial straw poll.

A libertarian from Texas who has railed against spending and the Federal Reserve, Paul won the contest with 31 percent backing.

Paul spoke at the conference along with potential presidential candidates former Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts and Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota. Romney won second in the straw poll, and former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin came in third.