Washington - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney
halted his White House bid Thursday, giving a decisive boost to US
Senator John McCain's campaign for the party's nomination.
Romney said he wanted to avoid a lengthy nomination fight with
McCain and boost his party's chances of winning the November 4
presidential election against either of the two Democratic hopefuls,
whom he accused of being soft on terror.
'I entered this race because I love America and because I love
America, in this time of war, I feel I now have to stand aside - for
our party and for our country,' Romney, 60, told a conservative
audience in Washington, drawing howls of disappointment.
On the Democratic side, former first lady Hillary Clinton and
African-American candidate Barack Obama remain in a tight battle for
their party's nomination.
'Frankly, I'd make it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win,'
Romney said. 'In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be
a part of aiding a surrender to terror.'
A millionaire businessman who has hewed to the party's
conservative side, Romney fell far behind front-runner McCain in
Tuesday's nationwide primaries and caucuses for the Republican
nomination.
In the series of state-by-state preference contests since January,
McCain has won 689 delegates to the Republican nominating convention
in September, compared to 133 for Romney, according to a New York
Times count.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor who
appeals to social conservatives, is third in the Republican race. He
swept five southern states Tuesday and has vowed to stay in the race.
Romney was the latest dropout in the Republican field. Former New
York mayor Rudy Giuliani and former actor and US senator Fred
Thompson previously abandoned their presidential bids.
USA
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