WASHINGTON -- Mitt Romney quit the Republican presidential contest yesterday, clearing John McCain's path to the nomination.
Romney said it might endanger national security if he tried to take his candidacy all the way to the Republican convention.
But it was also a practical decision for a 60-year-old candidate who liked to tout his success in the practical world of business. After contests in more than half the country, he had no realistic chance of overtaking McCain.
Romney wasn't expected, for example, to win any delegates in Tuesday's primaries in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia.
Romney, whose father made an unsuccessful run for the 1968 Republican presidential nomination, spent more than $35 million of his own money on his campaign.
He announced his decision to abandon the race at the end of a previously scheduled speech to a conservative gathering in Washington, stunning hundreds of supporters.
"This isn't an easy decision. I hate to lose," Romney said, his voice growing thick.
"If this were only about me, I'd go on. But it's never been only about me," he said. "I entered this race because I love America. And because I love America, in this time of war, I feel I have to stand aside, for our party and for our country."
Prolonging his campaign all the way to the convention, he said, would give Democrats a much better chance to win the presidency.
He said that electing either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama would mean "retreat" and "defeat" in Iraq, with "devastating" consequences for America, including new terrorist attacks.
Romney said that "in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror."
Many supporters in the crowded ballroom of a Washington hotel groaned as he made the announcement.
"We love you, Mitt!" a woman shouted.
McCain, appearing before the same audience hours later, praised Romney for running "an energetic and dedicated campaign." The Arizona senator said he and Romney had agreed on the importance of uniting the party, and he appealed for the backing of Romney supporters.
Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee is likely to gain added support from social conservatives who favored Romney.
But Huckabee's cash-short campaign is barely competing in many states, including Maryland, and party strategists said he had no realistic chance of stopping McCain.
