Romney Drops Out, What About Huckabee?

By Jeralyn, Section Elections 2008
Posted on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 11:48:20 AM EST
Tags: Mitt Romney (all tags)

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Mitt Romney has suspended his campaign.

John McCain effectively sealed the Republican presidential nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his faltering presidential campaign. "I must now stand aside, for our party and our country," Romney prepared to tell conservatives.

Romney says if he doesn't get out now, he increases the chance of a Hillary or Obama win in November. He adds:

"I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating al-Qaida and terror," Romney said.

"Finding and executing?" How about a trial first or saying you are going to bring him to justice? Those Republicans....

And what about Huckabee? Will he drop out next or stay and try to pick up Romney's religious supporters?

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Romney Drops Out, What About Huckabee? | 42 comments (42 topical)

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Mitt (5.00 / 1) (#5)
by Me414 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:10:06 PM EST

I think dogs around the country will be toasting with their milk bones tonight. Mitt the dog abuser is out of the race!

: lol (none / 0) (#7)
by Jgarza on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:13:43 PM EST

i forgot about that. that was terrible. I can't believe he did that.

cnn reporting that Bush will endorse McCain (5.00 / 1) (#8)
by independent voter on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:15:03 PM EST

What a boost to the Democrats in the GE! I don't think solidifying their message now will make up for a GWB endorsement

: The only thing Dubya can do for the GOP... (none / 0) (#9)
by Dadler on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:21:58 PM EST

...is shut up and disappear and endorse nothing but his own pension checks.
I hope he is endorsing McCain, enthusiastically. What better way to utterly repulse those even marginally on the fence?

Mitt can go back to doing what he does best (5.00 / 2) (#15)
by Ellie on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:40:18 PM EST

Modelling for fifties public domain clip art.

What's Rush's reaction to this, I wonder (5.00 / 1) (#23)
by tworivers on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 01:45:19 PM EST

Is he completely freaking out?

: stroke (none / 0) (#25)
by blueaura on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:07:22 PM EST

Maybe he'll have a stroke.

Talk about taking one for your party. (none / 0) (#1)
by oculus on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 11:51:53 AM EST

I think Huck is scared.... (none / 0) (#2)
by kdog on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:01:30 PM EST

if he drops out Chuck Norris will lump him up.

If Chuck says the campaign rolls on, the campaign rolls on!

Huckabee (none / 0) (#3)
by Me414 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:08:54 PM EST

I think he'll stay in the race to show that he can win the southern evangelicals, who McCain will need. He may be vying for a VP post. Although, I have the feeling that McCain is going to ask Lieberman to be his VP. Lieberman is joined at the hip with McCain.

IIRC Lieberman Is On Record As Saying That (none / 0) (#11)
by MO Blue on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:25:56 PM EST

is not an option. Of course, trusting Lieberman is not a good bet.

Don't think McCain would pick Lieberman because it would not benefit him with the parts of the Republican base who are not real thrilled with McCain as the nominee.


: Another point is age (none / 0) (#12)
by rebecca on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:36:00 PM EST

John McCain's age is going to be a point he doesn't want emphasized. Joe Lieberman looks old. With his gray hair and wrinkled face he looks old. He's 65 years old not that much younger than 71 year old McCain I think they will try to get someone younger or who at least looks younger to alleviate concerns about McCain's age.

At least... (none / 0) (#18)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:59:47 PM EST

...the DNC had the good sense (?) to finally strip Lieberman of his Super Delegate status.

Now, if only they would have the backbone to take away his committee assignents in Congress.


: They can't (none / 0) (#27)
by PlayInPeoria on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:14:44 PM EST

strip him of his commitees ....YET. But if all goes well in the GE... then they can!! :+}

Huck is (none / 0) (#4)
by Jgarza on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:09:54 PM EST

going for VP, by consolidating the base I think

Finding OBL is a campaign issue? (none / 0) (#6)
by Peter G on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:12:43 PM EST

Isn't "I agree with McCain we should find Bin Laden" a criticism of Bush, not a distinction of the R's from HRC or BHO?

Say it ain't so Mittens! (none / 0) (#10)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:25:27 PM EST

First Fred and now Mittens? Noooooooooooooo...

For the love of all that is holy--whoever shall proudly carry the banner of the corpse of Ronald (very much dead) Reagan now?!?

I weep for my Country and most especially, for its canines.

Will the Romeny boys have to get real jobs now? Does this mean they can elist to fight the islomofacsist? What about Ann?! Won't someone please think about Ann?!

Romney drops out (none / 0) (#13)
by ding7777 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:39:19 PM EST

the DOW climbs back to positive

Nooo -- no more Letterman Romney jokes? (none / 0) (#14)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:39:28 PM EST

Aw well, here are some of them for the sake of nostalgia:

"Pundits say that Mitt Romney may actually be too good looking to be president. (Well, that's what keeps me from running. ...) Mitt Romney looks like he is the closer at a Cadillac dealership. ... Mitt Romney looks like that guy on the golf course in the Levitra commercial." --David Letterman

"How about that Mitt Romney, am I right about this guy? ... I mean, he looks like the guy on TV selling life insurance, doesn't he? ... He looks like that guy on a Father's Day ad for Norelco. ... He looks like a guy on cable urging you to tap your home equity. ... He looks like an American President in a Canadian movie. ... He looks like the medical expert in a Victoria Principal infomercial. ... He looks like the spokesman for senior lending networks. ... He looks like the guy who promises accident victims he'll get the money they deserve. ... He looks like the guy on the 'Just For Men' bottle" -- David Letterman

How about that Mitt Romney, huh? I mean, this guy looks like he'd be selling fruit dehydrators on cable. ... He looks like the guy who tells you how to buy real estate with no money down. ... He looks like a cosmetic surgeon who gets ambushed on '60 Minutes.' ... He looks like the photo that comes with the frame. ... By the way, if Mitt Romney is elected, he'll be the first president ever sworn in on a copy of GQ." --David Letterman

What about that Mitt Romney? Mitt Romney. He looks like a guy who would run a seminar on condo flipping. He looks like a weekend weather man, doesn't he? He looks like the neighbor who spends way too much time on his lawn" --David Letterman

Flip-flopping to the end (none / 0) (#16)
by Joike on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:42:39 PM EST

Yesterday Romney said he would fight on. Today, he quits the race because he loves America so much.

Sniff. What a patriot. Course, he doesn't love America so much that he'd encourage his sons to enlist in the military. They love America so much that they served her best by trying to get their dear old dad elected President.

Now that his campaign has wheezed to a dead stop, the Romney boys will have a lot of spare time on their hands so maybe they'll enlist.

It will be interesting to see if the far right surrenders to McCain or continues the firefight with Huckabee. I'm betting on surrender, but I hope I'm wrong.

So who was worse as a candidate: Ole Fred Thompson, Rudy 9iu11iani or Mitt-bot Romney?

Thompson had a ton of hype, but was too lazy (excuse me, deliberate) to capitalize on it.

9iu11iani was endorsed by Fox News as America's Mayor and had a ton of money. He was also corrupt as all get out and a thoroughly dislikeable person. At least Fred seemed nice.

Romney has classic political good looks, a huge pile of personal money and the backing of right wing blow hards from coast to coast.

I'd say 9iu11iani was the biggest loser since he was so high and lost so badly.

Romney might have won had Huckabee not split the votes of the hate-wing of the GOP.

Good night sweet Prince. The America you love so much will mourn your passing from the fray.

farewell (none / 0) (#17)
by Kathy on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 12:42:48 PM EST

Mr Fakey Head. We hardly knew ye.

Not good for us that the repubs have settled on their choice while we are basically dueling it out for the 50/50 vote.

War... (none / 0) (#19)
by jarober on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 01:03:41 PM EST

War doesn't involve trials. Not that I expected you to understand that, but I thought I'd raise it anyway.

War (none / 0) (#29)
by Warren Terrer on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 03:06:53 PM EST

and executions aren't the same thing either. Not that I expected you to understand that, but I thought I'd raise it anyway.


Except (none / 0) (#33)
by eric on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 04:27:32 PM EST

you know, that whole Nuremberg thing.


: That's a reality-based observation (none / 0) (#40)
by Repack Rider on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 07:18:18 PM EST

Which is why conservatives don't understand it.

Old Yeller soldiers on alone (none / 0) (#20)
by robrecht on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 01:20:46 PM EST

Now my 5-year-old won't be able to laugh at Old Fart & Fakey Head during the Republican debates anymore.

Remember that Dobson has (none / 0) (#21)
by athyrio on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 01:26:39 PM EST

stated recently if McCain is the VP, he will have the evangelicals boycott this election...So the only way to avoid that is to make Huckabee the VP choice....I think that would be an automatic negative with the rest of America....Hope so at least...

VP (none / 0) (#22)
by bob5540 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 01:41:25 PM EST

I think the ticket will be McCain / Romney.

Just a gut feeling...

Bad news (none / 0) (#24)
by blueaura on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:03:59 PM EST

While I get a personal thrill that the slimy snake oil salesman is out, this is bad news for Democrats. First, as Romney asserts, McCain will be able to turn his campaign down to simmer, save money and start planning for the general election. Republican donors can hold on to their money for a few months, so they'll have more to pour into the campaign for the general election. Meanwhile we Democrats will continue to financially support our candidate of choice. While the general election is a clean slate in terms of contribution limits, most of us can't afford to keep throwing money into the hat every time it gets passed around.

At least McCain is hampered in terms of planning for the GE by not knowing who his opponent will be. But his people will have enough time on their hands to plan for running against both Democrats.

The Republicans Will Consolidate Their Support (none / 0) (#26)
by MO Blue on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:13:02 PM EST

and plan their attacks.

The Democrats will continue the battle to split the party in half.

Not good news either way.


Uh huh... (none / 0) (#28)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 02:14:44 PM EST

However, I think his funding is going to be somewhat limited by the fact that most of the Republicans don't consider him to be a true "conservative", whatever the heck that means. There's an awful lot of teeth-grinding, hand-wringing and utter disappointment within the GOP. I can't see them joyfully handing over their cash.

Hopefully, this will serve to further splinter the party.


I'm skepitcal... (none / 0) (#35)
by blueaura on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 05:08:11 PM EST

but I hope you're right about that.

However--and I'm not saying this to start a fight--I think the Repubs would be more likely to open their wallets to McCain if he was running against Hillary than Obama.

I'm an Obama supporter, but the hatred many people--especially Republicans--seem to have for HRC is just irrational. I have every intention to support her if she wins the nomination, but I truly believe Obama has a better chance of winning the GE. The latest survey from Rasmussen* agrees:

Looking to the General Election, daily tracking results show that McCain leads Clinton 46% to 44% while Obama leads McCain 46% to 43%.

* I don't know anything about this organization or how reputable they are.


: Didn't read far enough down... (none / 0) (#36)
by blueaura on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 05:11:56 PM EST

before commenting. The links cannondaddy posted below more or less agree with Rasmussen.
Thanks for those links, cannondaddy, I will be bookmarking them.

: No problem... (none / 0) (#37)
by MileHi Hawkeye on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 05:28:14 PM EST

...I'm a lover, not a fighter (except when it comes to the stoopid of DimJim). It is really hard to say what is going to happen, especially in these days of Bill Clinton and Richard Mellon Scaife reportedly being BFF's now. What's next--dogs lying down with cats?
All bets are off... And, I don't put a lot of faith in polls these days.

"trial" of Osama (none / 0) (#30)
by diogenes on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 03:12:22 PM EST

Hey, if the Democrats want to run on a presidential platform that says that Osama bin Laden should have a years long trial before sentencing and that he should not be executed if convicted, then be my guest.

: Trial or not (none / 0) (#41)
by Repack Rider on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 07:21:51 PM EST

Catching Osama would be more than Bush has accomplished, after announcing that he wouldn't rest until he had.
Are you MORE satisfied that Osama is a free man than you would be unsatisfied by a Democratic capture and potential trial?

Could this be a catalyst (none / 0) (#31)
by cannondaddy on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 03:39:02 PM EST

to end the Obama/Clinton standoff. It puts the republicans in a stonger position for the GE. This time next week Obama could be sitting on an additional 6 or so wins. With momentum on his side and an urge to get ready for the GE, superdelegates might start declaring in his favor...

Keep your eye on (none / 0) (#32)
by cannondaddy on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 03:57:47 PM EST

this and this.


Yep, disenfranchising OH, PA, TX (none / 0) (#39)
by TeresaInSnow2 on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 06:04:38 PM EST

before we have a clear winner? Good idea.


: It's usually decided before they vote anyway (none / 0) (#42)
by cannondaddy on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 07:38:38 PM EST

and they would still vote and sit delegates.

Has There Ever Been (none / 0) (#34)
by bob h on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 04:41:06 PM EST

in the history of American politics a more diabolical ass than Mitt Romney? His calumny that withdrawal from Iraq equates to surrender against terrorism must be answered.

This is interesting (none / 0) (#38)
by hookfan on Thu Feb 07, 2008 at 05:33:58 PM EST

Dobson says he won't support McCain. I also found out that 28% of Evangelicals are supporting Obama (from Relevant Magazine)-- more than support Huck. Where will Dobson's troops go? Sit it out? Vote for Obama? Maybe there is more than fluffery to Obama's touting religious language. It could split the Repub coalition. By the way Hillary doesn't get evangelical support-- not much over 1% which surprises me given her methodist background.