McCain profits as Romney abandons White House bid available (Roundup)

Feb 7, 2008, 19:39 GMT

Washington - Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney halted his White House bid Thursday, giving a decisive boost to US Senator John McCain's quest for the party's nomination.

Romney said an extended nomination fight with McCain would hurt the party's chances of winning the November 4 election against either of the two Democratic hopefuls, whom he accused of being soft on terror.

The millionaire businessman has been front-runner McCain's main competitor in the Republican contest, drawing socially conservative voters suspicious of the senator's more moderate domestic agenda.

'I entered this race because I love America and because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I now have to stand aside - for our party and for our country,' Romney, 60, told a meeting of conservative activists in Washington, drawing howls of disappointment.

On the Democratic side, former first lady Hillary Clinton and African-American candidate Barack Obama remain in a tight battle to lead their party into the election to replace President George W Bush.

'Frankly, I'd make it easier for Senator Clinton or Obama to win,' Romney said. 'In this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.'

Romney, a former governor of Massachusetts and a member of the Mormon faith, withdrew just two days after falling far behind McCain in the Super Tuesday primaries and caucuses for the Republican nomination.

Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, a Baptist pastor with particular appeal for the religious right, is third in the Republican race. He swept five southern states Tuesday and vowed to keep running.

McCain has snapped up 689 delegates to the party's nominating convention since state-by-state preference contests began in January, compared to 133 for Romney, according to a New York Times count.

Romney won 11 states to McCain's 13, but acknowledged that McCain is 'doing quite a lot better with the delegates' after taking the top three prizes - California, New York and Illinois - on Tuesday.

Romney supporters at the Washington conservative conference were stunned by his decision.

'A vote for John McCain is a vote for the Democratic Party. He is the antithesis of the Reagan revolution and the party would be set back 40 or 60 years,' said Daniel Lipian, 24, a student at Bowling Green State University in Ohio.

Yet Romney's support, even if tacit, could help McCain with Republican conservatives.

In his speech Thursday, Romney forcefully called for conservative 'family values,' higher military spending and small government.

'Conservative principles are needed now more than ever,' Romney said.

But he said he agreed with McCain 'on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq.'

Romney was the latest dropout in the Republican field, following former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani and former actor and US senator Fred Thompson to the sidelines.

The Bush administration avoided detailed comment on the Republican contest. But 'we have felt that all of the Republican candidates are on the right side of issues,' White House spokesman Tony Fratto said.