After a Super Tuesday Let-Down, Romney Bows Out of the Race

Today is a sad day for me. Though this blog began merely because of a class assignment and I had no previous attachment to Mitt Romney, I was really beginning to like him. Researching his campaigning tactics and voting tendencies allowed me to gain some insight into his political life. On Monday (Feb. 4), I was able to attend a Romney rally in Long Beach, Calif., which made me more excited about his campaign. It even made me feel like I had connected with him personally. Surrounded by his family and friends, Romney seemed a candidate as good as any to be elected to the White House. (Pictures of the rally will be posted here soon.)While I don't necessarily agree with all of Romney's beliefs, the race was heating up and I loved reporting his every move.

But that's all over now. Romney suspended his campaign today (Feb. 7) during the annual Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington. At approximately 1:00 p.m. EST, Romney announced that his campaigning days were over.



Romney did not do as well as he and his supporters had hoped on Super Tuesday (Feb. 5). He expected to be in a close race with McCain during the primaries and caucuses but must have been sorely disappointed when the results were finally totaled. CNN's Delegate Scorecard shows that Romney won six states on Tuesday but only upped his delegate total to 286 while Senator McCain surged ahead with 714 delegate votes.

Reports claim that Romney had personally spent $35 million while trekking along the campaign trail. Throughout the campaign season, Romney was viewed favorably as the candidate with the most sufficient funds. But money can't buy votes, and that was made evident on Tuesday.

It was difficult for Romney to remove himself from the presidential race. In his address at the CPAC, he said, "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."

CPAC attendees were shocked by Romney's decision to suspend his campaign. Most seemed unaware of Romney's choice until he voiced it during his address. Some Romney campaign staffers were even seen crying as he began his speech. (Check out this great play-by-play of the events leading up to Romney's speech at the CPAC along with a variety of excerpts from the address as he delivered it.)

Romney's decision to drop out leaves the GOP right where it started: Completely befuddled, confused and concerned. Romney did not endorse Senator McCain, only mentioning him in his speech by saying that he disagreed with many of his competitor's beliefs. Although Romney's campaign suspension ultimately provides John McCain with an easy rode to the Republican nomination (even though Mike Huckabee has announced that he is still in the race, he lags behind in number of delegates), many Republicans are outraged that the Arizona senator is their only option left. Though the GOP has essentially overcome the obstacle of selecting a candidate, many Republicans think that McCain is not conservative enough to represent their party.

In today's issue of the Los Angeles Times, Stephanie Simon and DeeDee Correll wrote a front-page article about conservative voters who think that having McCain as the Republican frontrunner is detrimental to their party.

"We're in a political dilemmas, as well as a personal dilemma," said Jessica Echard, executive director of the conservative advocacy group Eagle Forum. "What will we do? What can be done?"

Other interviewees expressed their concern that Republicans will be selling out if they vote for Middle-Ground McCain. Still others acknowledged that they would also be selling out if they didn't vote at all, creating an easy path to the White House for the Democratic nominee. This leaves many Republicans in a predicament: Should they support a Republican candidate who is not very appealing or essentially support a Democratic candidate by deciding not to vote at all?

Many CPAC attendees booed McCain while he was giving his speech, which was delivered a few hours after Romney announced the suspension of his campaign. McCain spent his time highlighting the differences between himself and Democratic candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, claiming that "I know I have a responsibility, if I am, as I hope to be, the Republican nominee for president, to unite the party and prepare for the great contest in November."

Critics think that McCain is too liberal to unite the GOP. Many also say that Romney and Huckabee successfully cancelled each other out because many of their policies and ideologies were similar. Had only one of them run, the voters would have only had one strict conservative to choose from, possibly allowing that candidate to surge ahead of McCain. Now, though, McCain is probably going to secure the Republican nomination for the 2008 presidential election and many voters don't know what to do or how to feel. With Romney out of the race, McCain will have to focus all of his energy on rallying Republican die-hards, proving that he can represent them just as well as he can represent less conservative members of the GOP.

And what will happen to Romney? Will we see him again on the campaign trail? It's highly unlikely that McCain will ask him to join his ticket as his Vice President and it's even more unlikely that Romney would accept such an offer. We might see Huckabee accept such a proposal, though. Previously, there has been speculation that Huckabee will run for VP off of McCain's ticket. Now that he is so far behind the Arizona senator and there is little chance of Romney running for VP, seeing Huckabee on the Republican ballot is something that wouldn't surprise many analysts.

Though Romney won't continue on, my blog will. I'll spend the rest of the primary season following McCain and Huckabee as they progress closer toward their goal of seeking election to the White House. The rest of the campaign season is sure to be full of surprises but there is one thing I know: Romney, you will be missed. At least by this blogger.