Mitt Romney Suspends Campaign
By Justin Gardner | Related entries in 2008 Election, Republicans, Romney
I guess this is the new trend these days. You suspend your campaign, but you don’t drop out because maybe you have enough delegates to throw your weight around come convention time. Because Edwards didn’t technically quit, he just suspended his campaign too.
So Mark Halperin is saying it’s going to come at his CPAC speech today.
Is this a smart move? Don’t know yet, but I think we all know we’re going to see Romney again in four years. At least that’s the common wisdom because few think the Republicans can win the election this year. I wouldn’t be so sure about that, especially if Hillary is the nominee, but let’s just say the Dems win. After 4 years of another Clinton, the right will still be clamoring to have a candidate like Ronald Reagan. And since nobody is going to let Fred Thompson near a podium again, Romney fits that bill. Plus, he’s out of the political game and so he’ll have 4 years of not making any laws or flip flopping on abortion, etc., so he won’t seem so hard for conservatives to swallow.
At least that’s my guess. He may be vying for the VP position, but something tells me he’s not interested in that.
TPM has heard similar rumblings too.
UPDATE:
His campaign confirms that he wants to run in 2012…but he wants to drop out so McCain can win?
Don’t those two things contradict each other?
Romney clearly hoped to preserve the goodwill of his party for another possible bid in 2012. He intends to run again in four years, according to a senior member of his inner circle.“He should be president. 2012,” the confidant e-mailed after talking to Romney.
“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 Sen. Clinton or Obama would win,†he said.
“And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.â€
Wow. Get a load of that last line. If a Democrat gets elected we’re surrendering to terror.
Whatever Mitt. Thanks for the memories…
This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2008 and is filed under 2008 Election, Republicans, Romney. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:41 pm
He’ll be back. I’m guessing he’ll try and follow the Ronald Reagan pattern of being the conservative runner-up for the nomination and coming back to take the crown 4 years later. I’m not the kind of person who believes history repeats itself though… I just think that there are a limited number of patterns in this electoral process so similarities can happen. I bet Romney is hoping that history repeats itself though.
February 7th, 2008 at 2:33 pm
Mitt will make a shit-ton of money in 4 years and be back with a bigger wallet.
“Whatever Mitt.”
No, like What-Ever Justin, you Dems totally like suck like little wussy babies against the terrorists. You totally like gag me with like a scud missile. OMG, Billary would just like invite the terrorist in with a big ole’ like “Welcome in Mr. Terrorist. Would you like some tea and maybe to cut off my head. Whatever. Dems like totally suck.
February 7th, 2008 at 3:07 pm
Ah crap… On the one hand I want to laugh my arse off because I hated Romney for the d-bag he is politically, but he’s just upped Huckleberry’s chance of competing…
If Huckleberry gets the majority of Mitt’s fans this it could send us to a brokered convention putting Mitt right in the action for a promotion so to speak.
Oh well, at least I get to hear the talking heads on the radio fume as they eat crow… silver-lining I guess.
February 7th, 2008 at 4:05 pm
McCain-Rice ‘08
I would go through snow, on my knees, to vote for that ticket.
I want it so bad… I can TASTE IT!
Agnostick
agnostick@excite.com
http://www.uscentrist.org
P.S. This is going to make Saturday’s Kansas Republican caucuses oh-so-exciting!
P.P.S. Last night, I saw my very first Ron Paul TV ad… WIBW-TV in Topeka…
February 7th, 2008 at 4:37 pm
All I can add is…Buh-bye.
February 7th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Agnostick:
I’d personally love to have Rice on the ticket… I think she’s honorable, a strong candidate, and is the one woman who could be an Iron Lady of America in the same tradition of Thatcher and Meir. But she’s got a slight problem when it comes to conservatives: she’s pro-choice and rumored to be a lesbian. I’m not sure how well that would play with the socially conservative crowd. I wouldn’t mind seeing Olympia Snowe either, but she’d be blasted by the conservative wing as too liberal.
Kay Bailey Hutchison might be a better choice. I definitely think America is ready for a woman president, and undoubtedly a woman veep… but it’s gotta be the right person, and I refuse to belive that Hillary is that person. So I’m hoping the Republicans try to find her in this election cycle…
February 7th, 2008 at 5:04 pm
McCain is at CPAC today promising the ultra-conservatives of the party the sun, moon and stars. If that’s the crowd you belong to I can understand you wanting him because if he actually wins this thing by appealing to them then he will spend the next four years pandering to them. Bush taught me one thing about the current generations of Republicans. When they say they want to work with non-Republicans for the good of the country they are lying.
February 7th, 2008 at 5:53 pm
Jim, I think McCain has enough of a record of going his own way that we don’t have to worry about him suddenly making a right turn if he gets into office. Pandering to the “base” is part of the way the suasage is made. If I really thought Clinton or Obama agreed with all the policies of MoveOn.org (a group they’ve both played footsies with), I would discount ever voting for them.
As for Romney, he’s a smart man who knows numbers. He knew he had no realistic chance of getting the nomination and continuing his campaign could sully his image because of how dirty he’d have to play. If the Dems win in Novemeber, Mitt might have a good shot at the nomination in 2012, but I really think the Republicans might want to consider someone younger who has a record with fewer fluctuations in opinion.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:06 pm
Alan, McCain’s differences with his party are exaggerated. He stands with them on far more than he disagrees. If he becomes President he will pander. He will waste time nominating judges like Roberts, Scalia and Thomas and quite possibly find a judge to nominate that will lie in his confirmation hearings to get past the Democratic majority. Should the Republicans get a majority while he’s in office he won’t have to bother with a stealth version of those justices of course. Every Republican running for President was promising that, McCain still is and I have to reason to doubt that it’s the truth.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:19 pm
Dos,
Valley Girl speak does *not* make a convincing political opinion.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:01 am
McCain’s record shows that he has no problem pandering to the left. That’s exactly the reason liberals like him and conservatives don’t trust him.
I doubt his “I am here because to get your vote” speech today swayed many conservatives. Did you guys miss the jeering?
Amusing how liberals always expect conservatives to reach across the aisle, while liberals don’t budge an inch from their agenda.
It was OK for Clinton to appoint liberal judges, push liberal agenda and demonize conservatives. Yet, when a republican President tries to implement conservative ideas, all hell breaks loose and liberals start to demand “bi-partisanship.” Code-talk for: our way or the highway.
February 8th, 2008 at 12:07 am
The sentence in quotes should read, “I am here to get your vote.”
Apropos, Governor Romney shouldn’t have stepped aside.
McCain isn’t getting my vote.