Romney’s Farewell
Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the Republican nomination today, as he stood before the CPAC conference in Washington. Like Giuliani as he aborted his bid, Romney did not shy away from sharing the truth as he sees it as his final contribution to the 2008 campaign.
In many ways his speech was ordinary. It proffered American culture as the city upon a Hill–the envy of the rest of the world–and the victim of various threats, both domestic and international.
Culturally, while there are flaws, Americans have yet to fall to the threats of atheism:
Europe is facing a demographic disaster. That is the inevitable product of weakened faith in the Creator, failed families, disrespect for the sanctity of human life and eroded morality.
Twentieth-first century economics threaten our culture in a way not seen before:
We face economic competition unlike anything we have ever known before. China and Asia are emerging from centuries of poverty. Their people are plentiful, innovative, and ambitious. If we do not change course, Asia or China will pass us by as the economic superpower, just as we passed England and France during the last century.
Both of which are statements one could expect to hear in a speech presented to such a conservative audience. But finally, Romney announces he will no longer pursue their (electoral) support.
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 Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror. …
If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
There it is: if Romney were to continue in the race, he would be complicit in surrendering to terror. (Never mind that this seems to be along the lines of a logical fallacy), Romney is stepping aside in the interests of the Republican party to combat a Democratic nominee in the fall.
The effect is to leave a front-runner, John McCain, with minimal support from the conservative base of the party. He leaves himself the opportunity for a role on the Republican ticket or in a Republican Administration, in a final dramatic attempt to position a Republican to win the White House.