Romney to endorse McCain

[Cleaner44]

Former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney will endorse John McCain's presidential bid today, Romney's campaign said in a statement.
Romney, the former Massachusetts governor who dropped out after the Super Tuesday primaries this month, will endorse McCain at a campaign appearance later this afternoon.

He announced Feb. 7 that he was suspending his campaign, telling a conference of conservative activists he was doing so for the good of the party. Romney spent at least $35 million of his own money on the race and had spent more than any other Republican — at least $88 million.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-02-14-romney-mccain_N.htm

[Fox McCloud]

I don't want to lean towards a "conspiracy theory" here....but something just isn't right.

Romney HATED McCain, and McCain HATED Romney...anyone watching the debates could realize that....the only thing they agreed on was continuing the "war on terror".

With Romney dropping so suddenly, and now this....is there funny business involved? Was he threatened?

I would really like to think not, and that it's just ignorance/stupidity/being a politician on Romney's part...but still, it's a very strange occurrence.

[IcyPeaceMaker]

Romney supporters will flock to Ron Paul:

Ron Paul, Romney refugees: Anyone but McCain?
by Mark Silva and updated with reader comments

This is the winter of discontent for a lot of voters, particularly conservative Republicans, who are watching their party rally around a candidate they cannot accept.

For Sen. John McCain, the alienation of many conservatives for many reasons -- including anti-war Republicans who had rallied to Texas Rep. Ron Paul's opposition to the war, and remain concerned about McCain's commitment to the war -- the challenge will become reaching into the middle of the American voters' hearts and pulling enough moderate Republicans, independent voters and swing-voting Democrats to offset his anemic base of conservative Republican support. Surely many of those disaffected will vote in November, but perhaps for a third-party candidate. Or perhaps many will simply sit it out.

The problem for McCain remains those anti-war Republicans and those Republicans carting signs around the halls of the Conservative Action Political Convention in Washington this weekend: "McCain=Amnesty.'' The combined albatross of immigration reform and the war represents a lot of baggage to carry into a general election in November in which Democrats will seek a renewed commitment to immigration reform and promises of ending the war.

Even after Republican Mitt Romney had dropped out of the race this week, people assembled for the CPAC continued voting for him in the straw-poll conducted there. Three-quarters of the straw-poll ballots were cast after Romney's announcement at the convention, according to CPAC. And, among all 1,558 ballots cast, 34 percent were cast for Romney, 33 percent for McCain, 12 percent for Mike Huckabee and 12 percent for Ron Paul.

Before Romney's withdrawal, 44 percent of the straw ballots cast at the convention were going his way. After his withdrawal, 32 percent still were going his way. So much for McCain's appeal to a convention that he had skipped last year, with apologies for his absence.

There are a lot of voters out there like "Don,'' who weighed in at the Swamp this morning on the question of where voters will go once Ron Paul is out of the race:

"The MSM can embrace McCain now, but the victory will be as ashes in their mouths,'' writes Don. "Now they will trot out the folks from the conservative PR firm hired by McCain in order to tell us, if effect, that our choices now are "his way or the highway". No thanks. I will vote 3rd party or stay home before being a party to sacrificing more lives to ill-advised foreign military adventures.''

[PatriotG]

Romney to endorse McCain (http://www.usatoday.com/news/politics/election2008/2008-02-14-romney-mccain_N.htm)

Two Candidates who argued and bickered, sometimes angily, who had opposing views on virtually every issue except the war, and now he's supporting McCain.

Once again proving that GOP doesnt want RP in. Because he doesnt march to their step...

This is mind boggling!

[Cleaner44]

I don't want to lean towards a "conspiracy theory" here....but something just isn't right.

Romney HATED McCain, and McCain HATED Romney...anyone watching the debates could realize that....the only thing they agreed on was continuing the "war on terror".

With Romney dropping so suddenly, and now this....is there funny business involved? Was he threatened?

I would really like to think not, and that it's just ignorance/stupidity/being a politician on Romney's part...but still, it's a very strange occurrence.

I would guess that top GOP brass asked Romney to step aside for McCain with the promise that they will back him in 2012. This is just part of that deal.

[azminuteman]

I don't want to lean towards a "conspiracy theory" here....but something just isn't right.

Romney HATED McCain, and McCain HATED Romney...anyone watching the debates could realize that....the only thing they agreed on was continuing the "war on terror".

With Romney dropping so suddenly, and now this....is there funny business involved? Was he threatened?

I would really like to think not, and that it's just ignorance/stupidity/being a politician on Romney's part...but still, it's a very strange occurrence.

Another thing not really related I thought was strange was the 2004 election.

I wasn't politically active, was a registered Independent, and really didn't like Bush. I didn't like Kerry either. I thought Kerry gave up too easily when a recount should have happened in Ohio. Either Kerry is really a douchebag or Mr. Slugworth had a talk with Mr Kerry.

That still doesn't sit well with me.
This 'endorsement' doesn't sit well with me either.

Neither does the execution of Saddam Hussein that happened rather quickly and the execution of Timothy McVeigh, also very quickly.

[moshe kerr]

this march on washington its so important. the gop its in real big do do trouble. if it loses this potus election coupled with the fact that it already has lost both house of congress, that means that its no long a serious political party. its on par with the other 3rd party organizations that experience the exact same reality. these gop neocons R running to put humpty dumpty back together again before the people realize just how badly broken this egg really is! the march to washington we anounce the fall of the gop before the RNC and before the general election when everyone will realize what we already know. we there by take on the mantle of prophets to our society, and can now take over and re organize the gop and a true conservative party. conservative meaning that the party serves to protect the interests of the people rather than lobbies.

[Aratus]

bush waded in to back mcCain and romney still thinks his 35 million plus
expendatures of his own personal monies has primed the pump for 2012???
had mitt romney kept his extant delegates aloof until the convention, he'd
have been in a kingmaker position if huckabee managed to have a string
of uphill victories. it either looks like bush REALLY had a heart to heart talk
with mitt romney, or romney has more of a quiet beef over something with
huckabee than all the public utterances that he and mccain indulged in!!!

[Penners]

Did anyone notice that neither of these men smiled as the official endorsement was aired?
They both looked like they HATED it.

WTF is wrong with the American People. Grrrr... I gotta quit thinking about it

[qh4dotcom]

WTF is wrong with the American People. Grrrr... I gotta quit thinking about it

Many Americans are more concerned about what is happening with Britney Spears, who is going to be the next American Idol, the latest movie from Hollywood, etc

Losing their civil liberties, who the next president will be, if he knows anything about economics, how many people will die in the Iraq war during the next 4 years, the possibility of a draft, the dollar losing its value, etc...is not that important to them. It sure looks like only Ron Paul supporters care about this stuff.

Sad but true.