Romney Drops Out of Primary Race

The specter of a Mormon multimillionaire as president has been lifted; Mitt Romney announced his withdrawal from the Republican primary race this afternoon. Romney used his speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee to declare: “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.” Wonkette liveblogged the speech to great comic effect.

After outspending and losing the Iowa caucuses to Mike Huckabee, and then losing the New Hampshire primary to John McCain, Romney never seemed to have any momentum in these first few weeks of the year. The former governor of liberal Massachusetts had been unable to shake the dreaded “flip-flop” sobriquet after changing his position on issues such as abortion rights

On the Republican side, it looks like the race is now McCain’s to lose, despite Huckabee surging after his Super Tuesday wins. On the Democratic side, there is an increasing likelihood that the race will come down to a nasty floor fight at the Democratic convention, especially if Clinton goes through with her plan to try and seat the delegates from Florida and Michigan. The candidates had previously agreed to ban delegates from those states because their legislatures moved their primaries up in the calendar without approval from the DNC; Clinton was the only candidate on the ballot in Michigan.

Photo: AP/Bizuayehu Tesfaye.

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By John Del Signore in News on February 7, 2008 1:28 PM

Comments [rss]

Elderta

Whatever, EastRiver. Since you don't know me, you have no idea what I thought of these races, of Kerry or of Gore. Thanks for playing. They may have run flawed campaigns, but Americans still voted for Bush, despite all of his obvious flaws, quick smile and down-home language.

EastRiver

Elderta, you and the die hards need to stop making excuses for the Democrats and blaming everything on stupid and sexist, racist voters. The reality is that Gore and Kerry ran lousy campaigns. Kerry didn't lose because of swift boat ads or windsurfing or his millionaire foreign born wife. Even when their positions were right they botched the message. Here's just one example: Balancing the budget turned into a populist rant against "the wealthiest 1%" which lumped people making a few hundred thousand a year in with CEOs. While the average voter is likely never going to make six figures he probably thinks it could happen. And he doesn't think he should be in the same tax bracket as a CEO.

ANGRYGOD11

Excellent!

When asked why his sons weren't in the military for a war he supported, Mitt said they were serving America by sacrificing for his election. Now, he can spend some money getting a limo for them to the recruiting office.

ANGRYGOD11

Excellent!

When asked why his sons weren't in the military for a war he supported, Mitt said they were serving America by sacrificing for his election. Now, he can spend some money getting a limo for them to the recruiting office.

SP

The dog thing is a colorful illustration of his idiocy. Please dont take it as a central argument against his ability as a politician, which is primarily to smile and look nice for the camera.

matthew gannon

Kucinich's wife is not hot at all. I don't see it.

I'd never vote for Romney - I had three chances to do it and didn't - but I think he's an okay guy. If you actually factor in the dog story when deciding who to vote for, then you shouldn't be voting.

McCain is crazy. I'd rather see him out not because he'd be a hideous president. He'd be less moderate than people think. He's the worst of Bush minus the torture.

The worst thing is McCain has sold out to the Bushies. The 2000 campaign by Bush was a disgraceful example of campaigning and he seems to have forgiven him. He's got the Cheney warmonger thing going full force. That's the bad thing with Romney, too.

Elderta

I wouldn't be so optimistic about whether either Clinton or Obama could beat McCain. I think they have a more than excellent chance, but never underestimate the "brilliance" of the American voter. They might feel more comfortable with an old white man than with a woman or a black man, no matter how much they hate their own Party right now.

In my heart of hearts, I'm sure that either Clinton or Obama will become the next president, but heck, you never know: we might be saying "President Huckabee" one day. After 2004, I will never overestimate the American people again.

JacqueMehoff

bye bye you big phoney.

SP

Uh, yeah, Romney is a frikin wicked genius:

http://www.vegblog.org/archive/2007/06/28/mitt-romney-is-an-idiot/

sethillama

Bubba:

Yeah, fresh air. Romney is bright, articulate, optimistic, and has a history of getting the job done with tremendous results. How would that not be a huge change for the better?

sethillama

Bubba:

Yeah, fresh air. Romney is bright, articulate, optimistic, and has a history of getting the job done with tremendous results. How would that not be a huge change for the better?

SP

Who are all these morons that are fans of Ron Paul? I hope you are being ironic. The guy is a fucking creationist, and thinks AIDS is divine punishment for homosexuality. He is a racist and an anti-semite as well.

Bubba

sethillama:

Funny. Funny stuff. Really. You're killing me. You've got to stop. Breath of fresh air. Oh boy, that's rich.

Mike D

Romney was a two-faced sellout. I still can't believe conservatives embraced this former liberal republican. Good riddance.

sethillama

Romney’s speech today was brilliant. Probably the most inspired, authentic speech of his campaign. As he learns from his mistakes and finds his voice in the coming years, American’s will gain a new appreciation for him.

It’s sad though; he could have truly been a breath of fresh air for the GOP. Oh well. His exit today was smart. He really took the high road by putting his cause ahead of his own self-interests. Truly a man with vision and love for his country.

We've not seen the end of Mitt Romney.

Kojak

Yep Thats her all right. Elizabeth Kucinich.

Shes also British. Do you know how hard it is to find a hot British woman?? And no hes not that rich of a man, which confuses me even more as to how he could land such hotness.

mellod

Heck yeah, Ron Paul!

Gregoire

John McCain is my favorite living Republican. That doesnt mean I want him for president, but I do love the cut of his wrinkled jowlly jib. Anybody hated by George W Bush and Rush Limbaugh can't be all bad.

My fear is Huckabee becoming his vice president, i.e. President of the United States once McCain has his eventual heart attack.