Washington - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney
halted his White House bid Thursday, giving a decisive boost to US
Senator John McCain's quest for the party's nomination.
Romney said an extended nomination fight with McCain would hurt
the party's chances of winning the November 4 election against either
of the two Democratic hopefuls, whom he accused of being soft on
terror.
The millionaire businessman has been front-runner McCain's main
competitor in the Republican contest, drawing socially conservative
voters suspicious of the senator's more moderate domestic agenda.
'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 meeting of
conservative activists 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 to
lead their party into the election to replace President George W
Bush.
'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.'
Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and a member of the
Mormon faith, withdrew just two days after falling far behind McCain
in the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses for the Republican
nomination.
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor with
particular appeal for the religious right, is third in the Republican
race. He swept five southern states Tuesday and vowed to keep
running.
McCain has snapped up 689 delegates to the party's nominating
convention since state-by-state preference contests began in January,
compared to 133 for Romney, according to a New York Times count.
Romney won 11 states to McCain's 13, but acknowledged that McCain
is 'doing quite a lot better with the delegates' after taking the top
three prizes - California, New York and Illinois - on Tuesday.
Romney supporters at the Washington conservative conference were
stunned by his decision.
'A vote for John McCain is a vote for the Democratic Party. He is
the antithesis of the Reagan revolution and the party would be set
back 40 or 60 years,' said Daniel Lipian, 24, a student at Bowling
Green State University in Ohio.
Yet Romney's support, even if tacit, could help McCain with
Republican conservatives.
In his speech Thursday, Romney forcefully called for conservative
'family values,' higher military spending and small government.
'Conservative principles are needed now more than ever,' Romney
said.
But he said he agreed with McCain 'on doing whatever it takes to
be successful in Iraq.'
Romney was the latest dropout in the Republican field, following
former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and former actor and US senator
Fred Thompson to the sidelines.
The Bush administration avoided detailed comment on the Republican
contest. But 'we have felt that all of the Republican candidates are
on the right side of issues,' White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.
USA
Your Talkback on this Story