Romney Drops Out (Updated by Jenn, live from CPAC)

UPDATED by Jenn:

Minutes after Mitt Romney dropped out of the Race,
here is what was left of his campaign…and, some would argue,
the conservative movement in 2008.Laura Ingraham gave a rousing introduction for Mitt Romney on Thursdsay, at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington DC., and a rally for conservatism in general. Introduced as a person who had been a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution, she stated:

It’s not enought to say that you ‘were’ a foot soldier in the Reagan Revolution. The Question is, ‘What have you done for Conervatism, lately?’

She added,

An obsession with bi-partision compromises does not keep us free.

Then Romney got up, and credited the Conservative Leadership Conference in 2007 for giving him a chance in this 2008 campaign, long before he became a frontrunner in the election. Unfortunately, he also repeated the same bizarre statement that he had not wow’d the CLC ‘07 attendees, either, that he was proud of the fact that America had never “taken land,” in a conflict.

He discussed the importance of conserving the culture of America, including the value of hard work and dedication, opportunity, belife in God, freedom, and family, and explained he felt the threat to this culture comes from within - and that threat is the dependency on government programs as well as the attack on our faith and morality.

“We will not be disuaded by the snickers and knowing glances,” he said, as he stressed the importance of standing up for American values.

Then, as Mitt Romney announced at CPAC that he was stepping aside and endorsing John Mccain because his (Romney’s) campaign was going to allow Hillary or Obama to win, cheers of “Mitt! Mitt! Mitt! rapidly turned to Boo’s… Romney explained that he disagreed with McCain on many issues but agreed with him on some important ones like national security, and the need for a Republican victory in 2008.

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Saying he did not want to be responsible for the Democrats winning the White House in November, Mitt Romney today dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination. Speaking at CPAC, Romney said a long nomination battle going all the way to the convention was detrimental to the party and the nation. He said the national campaign for November needs to start now and his presence in the race prevented that.Romney did not endorse either Huckabee or McCain but the pundits seem to universally believe the race is over and John McCain has won. Of course, the pundits have consistently underestimated Huckabee and it is likely that many Romney supporters will not support McCain. Their only alternative is Mike Huckabee.

There has also been no mention of the delegates Romney has already racked up. They have to go somewhere and it is unclear what Romney will do with the. Possibly he’ll wait to see what happens in the next few primaries.

The bottom line is, this thing isn’t over. The race has changed but it is still a race. I wouldn’t put too much confidence in the predictions of the pundits considering their track record so far.

Also see:

• Ron’s Musings: Romney Exits with Barn Burner Speech
• Girl on the Right: Mitt Romney’s Announcement to CPAC