Romney Withdraws -- Part One of Two

If there is anything that's predictable this year, it's to expect the unpredictable. Before a large audience of conservative activists in Washington, D.C., former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney today announced that he was withdrawing as a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination.

Romney told the Conservative Political Action Conference, "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 [Democrats] Sen. Clinton or Obama would win," he said.

Romney's surprise withdrawal leaves three remaining GOPers: Sen. John McCain, former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, and Cong. Ron Paul (Tx.). The remaining Democrats are pro-abortion Hillary Clinton (NY) and pro-abortion Barack Obama (Il.).

Although unexpected, the decision to leave the field does follow by only two days what was for Romney a very disappointing "Super Tuesday." McCain carried nine states, Romney won seven, and Huckabee finished first in five states.

As we noted yesterday, the contours of the media coverage changed when Sen. McCain was able  to win large winner-take-all states such as New York, Missouri, and Illinois. McCain won six of the eight winner-take-all states, and in the process gained 312 delegates.

As of today, McCain had 720 delegates, Romney 279, and Huckabee 194.

NRL News will keep you abreast on further developments. For a daily update, please continuing coming to Today's News & Views.