Speaking to the Conservative Political Action Conference this morning, Mitt Romney announced that he was stepping out of the race for President. I watched the annoucement live and it was obvious that the crowd was stunned by his pronouncement. Here are a few excerpts from his speech:
"I disagree with Senator McCain on many issues. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and I agree with him on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror worldwide,"So it looks like John McCain is the Republican nominee.
“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention … I’d forestall the launch of a national campaign and, frankly, I’d be making it easier for Sen. 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,. If this were only 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.”
6 comments:
"Frankly, in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."
Huh? Are we really back to this kind of rhetoric again? Does he realize it was his party that diverted troops and resources (not to mention public and international support) away from the real battle in Afghanistan/Pakistan to launch an unnecesary and grossly mismanaged war in Iraq?
Wow I am really shocked! I never would have imagined he would just up and quit when he was not that far behind McCain.
How does this work at the Republican convention (Natalie or anyone)? Is he pledging his delegates to McCain? Can he do that, do they vote for Romney anyway, or do they vote as they see fit? (Also wondering how it works for Democrats, since they do things differently.)
Renee,
I'm looking into your question and will post an answer soon. I was wondering the same thing because John Edwards also "suspended" his campaign. There is a technicality in the wording but I'm not sure exactly what the benefit is.
Natalie
Romney is a smart man and has done the math...he will have to win at least 60% of the delegates to beat McCain. I personally was also surprised, but am interested in how everything will unfold.
Do we really want a male version of Hillary Clinton to represent the conservative republicans? I would vote for Obama over McCain!
I never understood why talk radio conservatives were so supportive of Romney. The man was governor of Mass for heaven's sake; hardly a state that elects conservative governors. He had so many election year conversions (flip flops), it was hard to take him seriously. I think that's what hurt him more than anything else. He came across like a disingenuous rich white guy who would say anything and take any position to be liked by the conservative base, or at least the talk radio wing of the conservative base. I think he would have served himself better by staying true to his more moderate record as governor of Mass. Regardless, it's nice to see the more moderate wing of the Republican party come out on top. McCain is the only hope Republicans have to win in Nov.
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