Looks like Mitt Romney’s accepted the inevitable, which is a good thing:
WASHINGTON (AP) _ John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney prepared to tell conservatives.
"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."
McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination.
Overall, McCain led with 707 delegates, to 294 for Romney and 195 for Huckabee. It takes 1,191 to win the nomination at this summer’s convention in St. Paul, Minn.
"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, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror," Romney said.
Romney acknowledged the obstacles to beating McCain.
"As of today, more than 4 million people have given me their vote for president, less than Senator McCain’s 4.7 million, but quite a statement nonetheless. Eleven states have given me their nod, compared to his 13. Of course, because size does matter, he’s doing quite a bit better with his number of delegates," Romney said in prepared remarks.
Romney’s departure from the race came almost a year after his formal entrance, when the Michigan native declared his candidacy on Feb. 12, 2007, at the Henry Ford Museum of Innovation in Dearborn, Mich.
So Republicans, it looks like John McCain is your nominee. As for me, at least there will be one candidate on the ballot in November I will be glad to vote for. Still waiting to see whether there will be two.
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I’m very proud of Mitt.
Looks like it’ll be McCain/Huckabee, then. Didn’t you call it back in December, Brad?
As a matter of fact, I did. But give credit where it’s due — so did David Broder. I was just seconding that excellent thought.
Broder mentioned it again just this week. Smart man, that David Broder.
Now that we know the population of the U.S. is going to increase by 20% to 30% in the next four years no which of the remaining candidates is elected. Where does McCain stand on mandatory health care? Is he fer it or agin it?
I heard that John McCain, when told about Romney withdrawing, said “I love the smell of napalm in the morning”.
Pyrrhus said “another victory like this and we’re ruined”.
Richy Rich really enjoyed a great ROI on the $40m that he wasted from his inherited wealth. He can return now to fantasizing about his father marching with MLKjr.
Romney should just save his money and build his team for 2012.
Hillary, Obama, or MeCain, the public will soon be fed up with 40,000,000 illegals from Mexico, the destruction of medical care, and a recession brought on by tax increases.
Mitt’s valiant sons now can serve their country in a real way–volunteering to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Oh wait, nevermind, they are rich.
Murdock, don’t forget to use the other tired Left Smears about our military:
“Blacks do all the fighting.”
“Only poor illiterates join the military.”
“Our military doesn’t believe in fighting Islamic terrorists.”
It has all been debunked, from Vietnam to Iraq. If you care about the truth, read the truth, and stop insulting our soldiers.
Mitt’s exit was probably the classiest exit for a politician in a very long time. Much better than McCain’s in 2000 where he decided to attack the “Agents of Intolerance” in his own party. But that’s not the point.
Romney is not only classy, he’s smart–real smart. You will see this man in 2012, I gurantee it, and this time, it will be his nomination to lose since it will be a failing Democratic administration on its way out.
Lee,
Should we find a candidate for the people and one that could save our country, Lee Muller should be the one to direct the campaign.
The problem is that Lee goes to the heart of any matter and faces it headon. We had such a person in Lee Atwater once upon a time. Maybe Lee would not appreciate my comparing him to Lee Atwater but Lee A. was a infighter. He knew how to win and I think that Lee Muller knows how to win but who is to listen? The same people that do not hear the tree fall in the forest?
Dick Morris is a true shooter even though he apparently likes to suck women’s toes.
Just to close this and say that I am not for Hillary or Obama. Hillary has too much baggage because of a admitted socialist and Obama has no substance and no qualification to be president except he is a bullshooter.
It is a damn shame that we cannot call the whole thing off and start over again but that is the nature of politics. By the time that the voters realize that they have been had, it is too late to counter attact.
The best plans of mice and men. Quess who are the mice?
Funniest thing about Mitt’s speech came early on, when he expressed fears that America would become “the France of the 21st century.” Horrors! (Guess even in the era of Sarko, getting in a dig at France is always an easy applause line at a conservative gathering).
He was talking about geopolitical might; what Mitt may not know is that while (perhaps BECAUSE) France is not spending more on its military than all the other nations of the world combined, the way we are, there are some areas instead where the French people might be on guard against becoming “the U.S. of the 21st century.”
For example, health care, where in a recent WHO study, France came in first, while the U.S. scored 37th, slightly better than Cuba and one notch above Slovenia. France’s infant death rate is 3.9 per 1,000 live births, compared with 7 in the U.S., and average life expectancy is 79.4 years, two years more than in the U.S. The country has far more hospital beds and doctors per capita than America,
65% of French citizens express satisfaction with their system, compared with 40% of U.S. residents. And France spends just 10.7% of its gross domestic product on health care, while the U.S. lays out 16%, more than any other nation.
And they still have individual doctor choice and much more freedom in their plan than Canada and the UK, for example.
France spends less on medical care because denial of care and rationing is a primary method used by socialists to control costs.
A woman in France with breast cancer has half the survival chances of an American woman. One reason is that the French deny access to the latest treatments. Over 200 cancer drugs on the market in the US are forbidden for sale in France – too expensive.
France – 33% of breast cancer patients die
USA – 20% of breast cancer patients die
(and that would be lower if we did not treat so many Latino illegals who arrive here already with progressed cancer)
One thing you can say for Mitt: Catchers and first basemen vote for him at every game.
Romney had the hominy,
But he needed a bit more grit.
You’d think he suffered ignominy
To read Brad write on Mitt,
But every pious homily
And every vicious hit
Bore more than the minim of venom
And only a touch of the wit
Needed to ensure a comfortable fit.
So Romney escaped
With a speech well shaped
And missed every drop of Brad’s spit.
mitt romney and his 14 great grandmothers are a joke…thank god his magic underwear did not help him in the election…now republicans can focus on their hate radio and fake fox news channel to demonize mccain…lee muller would make a great grand dragon…i hear there are openings…
You can depend on the Democrat base hating Mitt Romney or anyone else who made themselves wealthy through hard work.
Successful businessmen make Democrats feel so inferior and bitter.