(SGT NEWS BITE) - Republican John McCain is trying to ease long-standing distrust among the party's powerful conservatives. It will be a slow process.

"I believe that the majority of Republican Party conservatives are convinced that I'm best equipped to lead this country, unify our party and take on the challenge of radical Islamic extremism," McCain told reporters Saturday.

As Super Tuesday looms—and the possibility that McCain could all but wrap up the nomination—the chattering conservative class is in an uproar. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh has warned that McCain as standard-bearer would destroy the Republican Party. Author and pundit Ann Coulter, in jaw-dropping heresy, said she would campaign for Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton if McCain wins the party nod. Commentators Laura Ingraham, Sean Hannity and Mark Levin have come out in support of McCain's rival, Mitt Romney.

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