Romney Quits!

In a surprise move, GOP nomination candidate Mitt Romney has announced that he his suspending his fight for the GOP presidential nomination against John McCain. Stated reason: News reports indicate that after meeting earlier with his staff, Romney had originally decided to continue his campaign. But later, apparently upon reflection, he opted to withdraw in order to allow the party to now press ahead with a national election campaign rather than continue with a rancorous nomination campaign.

After “Super Tuesday” it was apparent that the numbers clearly are not with him. To have any real hope of capturing the GOP nomination, Romney would need to win the next 4 out of 5 upcoming primary elections - a possibility that just didn’t seem real, given Huckabee’s surge in the polls on Tuesday.

“Suspend” is the operative word here. Ever the analytical business head, he looked at his options and decided to “suspend” - not quit. Significant, when you consider “suspending” a campaign allows one to come back later and resume fund raising. This option could allow him to recoup some of the $18million (last quarter) and $35million (total) of his own funds that he‘s spent so far in his campaign.

His departure speech: Stirring; lots of energy and passion. Too bad he didn’t seem to project at that level before. It might have made a difference. Unfortunately, in commenting on issues other than the economy, he just didn’t seem to “find his voice”. It left folks to wonder who exactly Mitt Romney is and where he stands. “Sincerity” was also discussed among political pundits at great length. He never quit exuded the level of “sincerity” that Huckabee (and apparently, McCain) projected. He always seemed to be too smooth, too polished, too well-coifed. Someone even mused: “If only he’d mess up his hair!”

Outcome? The word is that this move garners a huge amount of goodwill for Romney within GOP ranks, providing for the possibility for a shot at the presidency in 2012.