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Hugh on Romney’s Decision to Quit

No one advocated more vigorously for Mitt Romney than did Hugh Hewitt and none of Romney’s supporters has been more gracious about the end of the Romney campaign:

Governor Romney is an incredibly gifted man --intelligent in the way very few people are, charismatic, and blessed with an amiable openness and determined, strong character.

He is a good man, and his very successful run towards the presidency is a testament to his talents.  His magnificent family represents an achievement in the private sphere that he shares with Ann Romney and which was reflected in his accomplishments in business, at the Olympics and in Massachusetts.

Because he is a very good man, a great conservative and an extraordinary patriot he is standing aside to allow Senator McCain’s national campaign to commence.  There were excellent reasons for Romney to stay in the hunt, including the opportunity to score some impressive victories in places like Ohio, which might have served Romney well in any future campaign. 

Romney’s decision to “stand aside,” and especially the reasons he gave just now in his CPAC speech underscore the qualities I found so compelling in him, and confirm for me my decision to support him made many months ago.  Had the conservative movement more quickly recognized these qualities, the coming together around Romney that has occurred in the last few weeks would have assured him the nomination and, I think, the White House.  But it didn’t, and now the task is to assure that Senator McCain succeeds President Bush for the very reasons Mitt Romney outlined today.