February 7, 2008

Romney Out

Damn.

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign.

"If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney will say at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters... many of you right here in this room... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country," Romney said.


Don't expect Senator McCain to tack to the right anymore.

The race is over.

GOP2008 Primary Posted by AlexC at February 7, 2008 12:45 PM

I hope he tacks to the right just long enough to choose Senator Fred Thompson as his running mate.

Sorry jg and sorry ac. But I am glad that it is over. This is a Democrat year any way you measure it. I am glad that he can save his money, focus and prestige for the general, while we get to watch the other guys duke it out.

Posted by: jk at February 7, 2008 2:02 PM

JK said "Commander-in-Chief" gets two." Mitt says, in effect, it gets four:

"Even though we face an uphill fight, I know that many in this room are fully behind my campaign. You are with me all the way to the convention. Fight on, just like Ronald Reagan did in 1976. But there's an important difference from 1976. Today, we are a nation at war, and Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the War on Terror. They would retreat, declare defeat, and the consequences of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America launched from safe havens that would make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child's play. About this I have no doubt. Now I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq and finding and executing Osama bin Laden. And I agree with him on eliminating al Qaeda and terror worldwide. Now if I fight on in my campaign all the way to the convention - I want you to know I've given this a lot of thought - I'd forestall the launch of a national campaign and frankly I'd be making it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win. Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror. This isn't an easy decision. I hate to lose. My family, my friends, you, my supporters across the country, you've given a great deal to get me to where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were about me I'd go on, but it's never been only about me. I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, in this time of war I feel I have to now stand aside. For our party and for our country. (You guys are great!) I will continue to stand for conservative principles. I'll fight along side you for all of the things that we believe in. And one of the things we believe in is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face of evil extremism. It is the common task of each generation and the burden of Liberty to preserve this country, expand it's freedoms, and renew it's spirit so that it's noble past is prolonged to it's glorious future. To this task, accepting this burden, we're all dedicated. And I firmly believe by the providence of the almighty that we will succeed beyond our fondest hope. America must always remain, as it has always been, the hope of the Earth. Thank you so very much. I love you. Thank you."

Posted by: johngalt at February 7, 2008 3:17 PM

I wonder how he expanded freedom in Massachusetts by forcing people who didn't want health insurance to buy it anyway.

Posted by: Perry Eidelbus at February 8, 2008 1:37 PM | What do you think? [3]