James Carville a staunch and at times ornery advocate of Sen. Hillary Clinton told students at South Carolina’s Furman University that the “great likelihood” is that Sen. Obama will take the nomination. Carville urged that it was important for Clinton to stay in the race until the end, but this is one more signal that the Clinton campaign is winding down and beginning to accept what seems inevitable.
Let’s face facts here, Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a shot in hell of winning this thing, not by any available positive means. Sure the superdelegates could ignore the fact that Obama has the popularity, but that won’t happen. Even with an honest seating of Florida and Michigan delegates, Clinton cannot win. She needs to win by astronomical margins in the remaining states and even then we are looking at a race that is deadlocked.
There is another reality occurring, a fiscal reality. Today’s reports are that Clinton has loaned herself another $6.4 Million this past month. The campaign is out of money and doesn’t have a shot of raising enough to be competitive, not this year.
No more telling sign was the exhaustion on Bill Clinton’s face last night, as most in the media immediately picked up on. The Clinton’s looked as exhausted as their campaign has become.
I personally have always been against the media’s push for Clinton to exit the race after every primary since Iowa. With that said, this time I have to join them. It makes no sense to keep moving when they are this far into the quicksand.
Pat Buchanan on MSNBC offered the best advice I have heard. Clinton should immediately end the negative attacks, pull together and start running a campaign of reconciliation. She should sit down with advisers and in my opinion with the Obama people and figure out the best way to get out gracefully, on top and working to unite the Democratic Party.
In short, it is time to realize this campaign is over and be bigger than oneself. The exit polling and the results showed a lot of very bad news for the Democrats. A party split, rural voters who aren’t likely to jump aboard the Obama bandwagon and potential for big losses come November. If the party wants to win, they need to come together long before June.
In their first campaign swing as allies, Romney planned to meet McCain at the airport in Salt Lake City and appear with the likely Republican nominee at a fundraiser. The two then were traveling to Denver for a second fundraiser.
McCain, who has struggled to raise campaign money, is on a weeklong western fundraising swing. Romney is popular in Utah and Colorado, states with large numbers of residents who are members of Romney’s Mormon faith.
The Arizona senator joked Wednesday he got the impression Romney is interested in the No. 2 spot on the Republican presidential ticket after watching a recent interview with the former Massachusetts governor.
“I got that impression from him watching his interview last night, I got that impression,” McCain said laughing on his campaign plane in New Hampshire. (Watch McCain’s comments on Romney)
The comments follow Romney’s interview with Fox News Tuesday night, during which the former presidential candidate said he’d be honored to serve alongside McCain.
“I think any Republican leader in this country would be honored to be asked to serve as the vice presidential nominee, myself included,” Romney said. “Of course this is a nation which needs strong leadership. And if the nominee of our party asked you to serve with him, anybody would be honored to receive that call … and to accept it, of course.”
McCain refused to hint at just how seriously his campaign is considering Romney for the ticket, though reports earlier this week said some aides to President Bush are pushing the idea of a McCain-Romney ticket, given the Massachusetts Republican’s credentials with respect to economic issues.
Also says there is nothing but goodwill between the two and that Romney “has a big role to play”.
Republican campaign dropout Mitt Romney agreed Thursday to endorse Sen. John McCain for the party’s presidential nomination and ask his national convention delegates to swing behind the party front-runner, according to officials familiar with the decision.
Romney collected 280 delegates during his run through the early primaries and caucuses, more than enough to put McCain over the 1,191 needed to clinch the nomination.
The officials who disclosed Romney’s plans did so on condition of anonymity because the formal announcement is expected later in the day.
Romney’s decision marked a harmonious end to an occasionally contentious struggle between the two men over the party’s presidential nod. They criticized one another in television ads in state after state, a clash that effectively ended on Feb. 5, when McCain won a string of big-state primaries from coast to coast.
Officials said the former Massachusetts governor made his decision to back McCain earlier in the day, citing a desire to help the Arizona senator wrap up the nomination before too much more time passed.
Mitt Romney dropped out of the race yesterday and received the best press attention of his campaign. This helps prove my belief that if you want great press coverage and you are not McCain, Clinton or Obama, you need to either get in the race or drop out. Doing either will force the press to highlight your best qualities, speak well of your future, and rally your supporters.
My advice for Mike Huckabee? He should drop out early Saturday, ride the press tour on Sunday and on Monday say that he looked over the Sat. Primary results, found a glimmer of hope, and is starting up again.
”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 (Barack) Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” Romney planned to say in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.
”This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters … many of you right here in this room … have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. 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.”
Update: 12:35 Will announce at CPAC, will “suspend” campaign. (suspension means he would hold onto delegates). AP says he plans to say “If I fight on all the way to a convention… will make it more likely Senator Obama or Clinton will win… cannot be a part of aiding a surrender to terror… Not any easy decision, hate to loose…” NBC is running a special report.
Update: CNN claims 3 sources now saying Romney will either suspend or exit the race. Still unsure if the announcement will come at CPAC. Mark Halperin who put out the original report is on FOX News right now.
This just in from Mark Halperin, Mitt Romney is expected to leave the Republican race and could announce as early as today at his CPAC speech at 12:15PM.
