Romney Withdraws From Campaign, Leaving McCain Alone on Top

Dozens of students crowded into the Conservative Political Action Conference in Northwest D.C. yesterday, witnessing former Gov. Mitt Romney (R-Mass.) withdraw his candidacy for his party’s presidential nomination.

Although Romney admitted during his speech at the Omni Shoreham Hotel that he would like to remain in the race until the Republican convention in September, he said, “[B]ecause I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.”

Romney’s withdrawal paves the way for his biggest rival in the race, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), to secure the nomination. Romney faced numerous challenges during his campaign, and his failure to win a large number of delegates on Super Tuesday contributed to his campaign’s struggles.

During his speech, Romney pledged his continued support for conservative values despite his withdrawal from the race.

“I will continue to stand for conservative principles. I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next president of the United States to retreat in the face of evil extremism,” he said.

Romney drew boos and cries of protest from the thousands-strong crowd when he announced his pullout, as many in the audience had not heard of his decision to withdraw.

Although he disagrees with McCain on a number of issues, Romney said he does “agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaeda and terror.”

“[Democratic candidates Sens. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) and Barack Obama (D-Ill.)] would retreat and declare defeat and the consequence of that would be devastating,” Romney said.

Romney ended his speech on an uplifting note, saying, “America must remain, as it has always been, the hope of the earth.”

McCain was introduced by former Sen. George Allen (R-Va.). He attempted to rally the crowd, many of whom were still wearing the apparel and carrying signs supporting Romney, but was booed before, during and after his speech by portions of the audience.

McCain spoke of reaffirming his conservativism, which has recently been a point of contention in the race for the Republican nomination. “I am proud to be a conservative, and I make that claim because I share with you the most basic of conservative principles,” he said.

He then discussed his war policy, noting his support for “the president’s brave decision to escalate troop levels in Iraq.” Criticizing the potential Democratic nominees’ economic policies, McCain said, “Sen. Clinton and Sen. Obama will raise your taxes. ... I intend to cut them.”

“I will not let a Democratic Congress raise your taxes and choke the growth of our economy,” McCain said. He also chided the Democrats in Congress for not supporting surveillance measures and pledged to “defend our country against Islamic extremists.”

McCain wrapped up his speech by vowing to work with other conservatives if elected and by affirming his American pride.

“I love her deeply and will never tire of serving for her,” he said.