Romney abandons bid

Updated Below

Mitt Romney has thrown in the towel on his sputtering and feeble second-generation pipe dream.

Here is what he said to donors in a phone conference:

"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 Qaeda and terror. 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.

"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.

"I will continue to stand for conservative principles; I will fight alongside you for all the things we believe in. And one of those things is that we cannot allow the next President of the United States to retreat in the face evil extremism!!"

Of course, none of his five sons are heading to a recruiting station to take up arms to fight evil extremism. During WWII, he would have been shamed off the stage by that fact alone.

I bet the wife had more than a word or two to say about it all, too. He burned through $35 million of their fortune chasing his delusion.

So he is leaving to make it easier for the Republicans to get their act together and defeat Obama or Clinton. Because what we need is the four more years of Bush that McCain offers.

Any word on if paramedics have swarmed Dobson's offices in Colorado yet? You just know he had a seizure.

UPDATE:

Well! I am shaking off the haze of the meds that go along with having long, large needles poked into my knees, and I just heard the entire withdrawal speech. Hearing the petulant tone, rather than reading words through a Xanax filter really, really pissed me off. But I get that way when my patriotism is maligned and dismissed because I favor a different path for my country than the trainwreck currently unfolding.

What a jackass! Displaying that delusional, grandiose affect to the bitter end - with the emphasis on bitter.

Screw you, Mitt, you coward.

Surrender to terrorists? Is anyone going to demand an apology from this draft-dodging prick?

The thinking this warmongering chickenhawk embraces is exactly the thinking that has screwed us up this bad. It has have exacerbated the problem. Republicans have proven that they make us less safe, not more.