Ann Coulter and Mitt Romney banter backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference before Coulter’s speech lit up the joint. In between the photo flashes and handshakes, Romney tells a “joke” and talks about having a “good chat” with influential evangelical leader James Dobson.

Meanwhile, the John Edwards campaign has decided to make hay of the Coulter commotion, posting the video clip on its website and asking supporters to “help us raise $100,000 in ‘Coulter Cash’ this week to keep this campaign charging ahead and fight back against the politics of bigotry.”