OPINION: The End for Romney

By Akeem Mellis

WASHINGTON--Today, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney gave one of the better speeches conservatives have heard in a while. He defended the essence of conservatism and gave conservatives the best possible reason to choose him over Sen. John McCain (Ariz.).

It’s a shame, however, that Romney then proceeded to capitulate in the face of unfavorable odds and ended the candidacy of the Republican party’s last and best hope to deny McCain the party’s nomination.

As an attendee to this year’s Conservative Political Action Conference, I watched Romney’s speech on site with rapt attention, joining other conservatives in the hopes that Romney would repeat what he did last year at the Conference, and start a spark among Republicans that can somehow restart and rejuvenate his campaign in the wake of Super Tuesday.

For a while, the speech Romney delivered today sounded like something that could do exactly that. He touched on familiar and time tested themes, like ensuring that America’s culture is preserved in the face of what Democrats would want to do.

And that was just to chip away at Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee’s supporters on the religious right. He then brilliantly pounded home his economic prowess, a key asset that neither Huckabee nor McCain has in the face of looming economic troubles.

Finally, he stood up to McCain’s strength on national security by illustrating how strong he would be on terror and keeping America on the offensive against terrorists. The person conservatives have flocked to as the only true conservative left in the primary showed them why they were right to support him.

This made his announcement immediately thereafter that he would withdraw from the race even more painful to watch and digest. A not-so successful Super Tuesday fueled today’s stunning end to his campaign.

While Romney did win his home state and several Western states outside Arizona, he lost big time on two fronts: the biggest prizes of the night in New York and California; and failing to make any inroads down in the South, with Mike Huckabee winning Tennessee, Alabama, Georgia, and Arkansas.

These twin blows led to the campaign having “frank discussions” of whether or not he should continue, and today the decision was revealed. Now, there is no significant opposition to Senator McCain – unless you count Huckabee, who’s down big time against McCain in national polls right now.

So what’s next? Well it came almost immediately after Romney dropped out. Senator McCain finally showed up to CPAC after spurning it last year as his candidacy went into high gear.

While the goal of his speech was to unite conservatives still weary of his actions over the past 7 years, he should know that one speech won’t do the trick.

He’ll need the GOP base, and he needs it soon if he wants to win in November. His speech was a start, but there’s still a long way to go. But McCain’s work starts now, as his last significant opposition has exited stage left today.

Akeem Mellis is the president of the College Republicans. You can e-mail him at amelli3@pride.hofstra.edu.

Romney leaves the race

By Michelle Westgate
Staff Writer

Republican presidential hopeful Gov. Mitt Romney (Mass.) formally suspended his campaign Thursday during a speech at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee Convention.

“This isn’t an easy decision,” said Romney. “I hate to lose,” he said.

Many speculate that Romney’s withdrawal gives Sen. John McCain (Ariz.) a guarantee to the nomination for the Republicans in the general election.

“Romney’s announcement effectively ends the Republican race,” said Mark Landis, the chairperson for the political science department. McCain will now be able to focus on the presidential race, instead of the battle for the nomination, he added.

Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science, is "certain" that McCain will be the Republican nominee for the November election.

With Romney out of the race, no other candidate will be able to overcome McCain’s current lead. “Huckabee is so far behind that he is not going to catch up,” he said.

Landis speculated that Huckabee may soon withdraw from the race as well.

Although Romney has not officially endorsed McCain, his statement today seemed to suggest that Republicans should come together for the sake of the nation. He explained that his campaign was hindering the protection of the U.S.

“In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” said Romney.

According to Landis, Romney’s choice to suspend his campaign, rather than quit, allows him to continue receiving federally-matched funds for contributions received. However, suspending his campaign does not give him total control over the delegates he has already won.

“Suspending his campaign allows Romney to keep his delegates he won at the congressional district level in past primaries and caucuses,” said Landis. “Delegates won at the state level are now released from him and will be allocated in a manner to be determined by those states’ Republican Party committees,” he said.

In response to Romney’s withdrawal, McCain expressed that he is not slowing down. In an AP interview today, he said “We’re continuing campaigning and not taking anything for granted."

Romney suspends campaign

After reports from NBC News Tuesday night about "frank discussions" in the Romney campaign due to a poor outing in the Super Tuesday contests, Romney officially suspends his campaign in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC).

The Republicans: Finding a Nominee

By Michelle Westgate

Staff Writer

Super Tuesday's primary contests confirmed the frontrunner status of Sen. John McCain (Ariz.), who captured both the most and the largest states up for grabs in the Republican contests. But the results also showed the resurgence of Gov. Mike Huckabee (Ark.), who was written off for dead after poor showings in South Carolina and Florida prior to the almost-national contest.

Twenty-one states held Republican contests during the largest primary event in modern U.S.-political history. Early in the day, candidates John McCain and Mitt Romney appeared to be the Republican front-runners.

McCain captured states traditionally won by Democrats during the general election, including New York, New Jersey and California. Huckabee won some important southern states, including Tennessee, West Virginia, Alabama and his native state of Arkansas.

Richard Himelfarb, an associate professor of political science, described Huckabee’s advance as an upset. “What this says is that McCain has not sealed the deal yet,” he said.

In a speech Tuesday night from Little Rock, Ark., Huckabee said: "A lot of people have been trying to say that this is a two-man race. You know what? It is, and we're in it."

After the results were announced, NBC News reported that Romney was going to have "frank discussions" with senior staff at his Boston campaign headquarters on Wednesday.

Most of the states that held Republican contests on Super Tuesday were winner-take-all, giving McCain's victories in nine states added importance. He leads with 522 delegates, with Romney taking 223 and Huckabee winning 142, according to Associated Press estimates. Nearly 1,200 delegates are needed to win the nomination.

“I think we must get used to the idea that we are the Republican Party front-runner for the nomination of President of the United States," McCain said at his election night rally in Phoenix, Ariz. "And I don't really mind it one bit.”

For the Democrats: The Battle Continues

By Elizabeth Mishler
Special to the Chronicle

Just as it was predicted going in, the Democratic Primaries on Super Tuesday were very, very close. Sens. Hillary Clinton (N.Y) and Barack Obama (Ill.) split the total popular vote almost evenly, with more than 11 million Democrats voting Feb. 5, with 76 percent of total precincts reporting.

Since no candidate swept the day, the campaign continues and the battle for the Democratic nomination moves on.

But instead of the battle involving who won what states, the Democrats battled over delegates within Congressional districts, because the Democratic party nominates its delegates based on proportional vote totals. According to Associated Press estimates, Clinton leads Obama 656 to 558, including super-delegates, who are convention nominees not tied to a specific candidate.

The primary day was the closest to a National Primary election there has been in the modern primary era. Democrats voted in 23 contests, from Alaska to California, New York to Idaho. Because of proportional apportionment, a candidate can lose a state, but still win more delegates than the winner.

In the Democratic Party there are 4,049 delegates up for grabs. A candidate needs 2,025 delegates backing them in order to win the nomination.

At her election night campaign rally at Hammerstein Ballroom in New York City, Clinton said that she wanted to bring her voters “values and dreams” to the White House. “Tonight is your night. Tonight is our night,” she said.

Obama’s speech from his rally in Chicago emphasized his supporter's role in his campaign. “Ordinary people can still do ordinary extraordinary things,” he said. "We are the change that we seek."

The campaign for the Democratic nomination continues, with both campaigns claiming victory on a chaotic day.

Super Tuesday Primary Night Live-blog

Elections inspector drops some 'hints'

When asked who she voted for in today's primary, Veronica Guerad of Levittown let out a hearty chuckle.

"Do you want the truth or a lie?" she said, moving her hands onto her hips. "I voted for the lesser of two evils."

As an inspector for the elections at Eisenhower Park, Guerad legally can't say who she voted for, but was able to drop some hints. "I supported former [New York City] Mayor [Rudy] Giuliani when he was in the race," she said. "After 9/11, he was down in the dirt."

After growing up through the Great Depression and World War II, she believes the New York Primary is a crucial vote.

The generations before this--your mothers, fathers and grandparents fought for this country. We established unions. We picketed in the streets. We can't have that slip."
(Jacqueline Hlavenka/The Chronicle)