McCain advisor said this earlier - assuming it's true, there was no physical way for Romney to win anyway: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/02/06/643431.aspx From NBC/NJ's Adam Aigner-Treworgy Speaking with reporters today, McCain adviser Charlie Black said, "To date, we have 775 delegates, Romney has 284, Huckabee has 205. It takes 1,191 to clinch the nomination. There are 963 left to be chosen, so Romney or Huckabee would have to have all of them -- all of them -- to get to 1,191. Now you can't do that because a majority of those 963 are chosen in proportional primaries, which means you'd have to get 100% if the vote to get them all. "It's virtually impossible for Romney or Huckabee to be the nominee just based on the arithmetic," Black added. "I see it as virtually impossible. I'm superstitious like my boss, I don't want to say anything's impossible, but it's virtually impossible on the arithmetic."
When you can't get many donations, and you're spending your own money, it gets hard to justify staying in a race where your only chance is a brokered convention.
Forget the fact that he's lying about delegates in Louisiana (and probably others). Romney and/or Huckabee doesn't have to get to 1191, they just have to keep McCain from getting there. Odds are stacked against McCain in a brokered convention.
looks like his 5 healthy sons failed america again! "The good news is that we have a volunteer Army and that's the way we're going to keep it," Romney told some 200 people gathered in an abbey near the Mississippi River that had been converted into a hotel. "My sons are all adults and they've made decisions about their careers and they've chosen not to serve in the military and active duty and I respect their decision in that regard." He added: "One of the ways my sons are showing support for our nation is helping me get elected because they think I'd be a great president." http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/08/08/politics/main3147321.shtml?source=RSSattr=Politics_3147321
Except that Huckabee (and McCain) absolutely despises Romney, and Huckabee really, really likes McCain - to the point where he absolutely refuses to criticize him at all (which will make this two way race interesting). Huckabee would, without question, pledge his delegates to McCain to prevent Romney from winning.
Ha! Romney is saying he's suspending his campaign because dragging it out would only help Obama or Clinton win in the fall. He's doing it out of loyalty to the party and to America.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ULK3JG1&show_article=1 [rquoter]WASHINGTON (AP) - John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. "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, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country," Romney said. McCain prevailed in most of the Super Tuesday states, moving closer to the numbers needed to officially win the nomination. THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below. WASHINGTON (AP)—Mitt Romney will suspend his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination, The Associated Press has learned, effectively ceding the nomination to John McCain. "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 (Barack) 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 planned to say in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference. "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, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."[/rquoter] http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D8ULK3JG1&show_article=1
Huckabee's supporters don't like McCain, and Huckabee can't pledge his delegates to anyone. I really think that both McCain and Huckabee wanted to run a relatively clean campaign, and Romney's millions in attack ads turned them off. The hate is personal.
If he personally asks his delegates to support McCain, they will. The delegates will be loyal to him above all else. And chances are, there would be a reward for it (ie, the VP slot or something like that) which would just be icing on the cake. The only way Romney was ever going to win was to win it outright.
