Mitt steps aside

Maybe I should stop picking a horse in this race; they keep coming up lame.

After rooting for Fred Thompson to give us more than he did in his brief run (more like an amble) toward the White House, I was forced to pick someone else after he dropped out Jan. 22. That someone was Mitt Romney, the only one left in the race still espousing conservative ideals, and a brilliant businessman to boot.

Today, Mitt quit.

He addressed the CPAC conference in Washington, D.C., (might be a better version here) and almost sounded like he was on the brink of tears in telling them how much they meant to him and how he was stepping aside for the good of his party and the country. Technically, he "suspended" his campaign, which allows him to hold onto his delegates until the convention, leaving himself one last possibility to power-broker.

Otherwise, the only thing standing between John McCain and the Republican nomination is Mike Huckabee ... oh, and Ron Paul.

Thank you, Schmuckabee, for refusing to drop out of the race though you never had a prayer outside the Bible Belt. Thank you for splitting the conservative vote in hopes McCain will pick you as his vice president. How do I know you had a deal, despite your denials? Because McCain released his delegates to you in West Virginia to give you your first win since Iowa.

Thank you, ignorant Americans who voted for McCain because ... why, exactly? Because he was a POW and you consider him a war hero? Bob Dole was a war hero too, and look how that turned out.

Even after McCain admitted that the economy wasn't his "strong suit," even in this time when foreclosures are at a record high and economists are warning us about a looming recession, you idiots STILL voted for McCain over Romney, a man who made a quarter-billion dollars as a venture capitalist and has pulled at least one major company from the brink of financial ruin. Why? "He's a war hero and doesn't want us to lose in Iraq." TELL ME that's not the reason you voted for him.

No one ever mentioned the fact that McCain is 72. But they sure as hell will in the general election. Those Democrats, who would rail to high heaven against such an "age-ist" stance if it were someone on THEIR side, will absolutely abuse McCain's age in the general.

Romney may be the genius I imagine him to be. He apparently is already floating the idea of running in 2012. He'd be a leading candidate either way, as he'd either be going against an incumbent Democrat, or a President McCain who will be 76. In that case, bowing out graciously now would save him some money, and save him from suffering an actual defeat down the line.