Romney's Concession

justin-paulette

Justin Paulette

Justin Paulette is an attorney practicing international law in bella Italia. He hails from the great Buckeye State, "The Heart of it All," the only state with a bridge which you can cross and still be on the same side of the river, home of the hot dog, pop top soda can and the largest basket in the world! Though he's spent the past decade jet-setting across the Atlantic with one foot in London and the other on Capitol Hill, he still fancies himself a Mid-western, God-fearing, role-playing geek at heart.
Posted:
02/7/08

Speaking at CPAC (the Conservative Political Action Committee) in Washington, D.C., Mitt Romney appeared cheerful, optimistic and extremely energetic as he delivered his concession speech.


The most interesting aspect of the speech was probably his express reason for withdrawal: Should he continue to campaign, fighting until the bitter end against John McCain, he could weaken the GOP ticket and perhaps allow Obama or Clinton to win the presidency. And, given the stakes, particularly the necessity to win the global war on terror, he could now allow the possibility of a Democratic White House to weaken the United States.


Complimenting America's role as the leader of the free world, Romney immediately launched into glowing praise of America's unique Conservative culture. Romney complimented American culture as the quintessential reason for our success and reinforced his devotion to conservative social and political policies.



As an example of successful conservative policies, Romney extolled the U.S. economy - warning against the possibility of looming competition from Asia and China. Particularly, Romney condemned oil dependency and out-of-control government spending.


Next, Romney announced his assessment of the greatest threat to America and the world: Radical Jihad. Taking a swipe at the Clinton years, as weakening the armed forces and poorly preparing the U.S. for modern challenges, Romney called for a renewed commitments to our military.


Finally, Romney drew together the threads of culture, economics and the military in an overarching denigration of liberal policies. This condemnation focused squarely upon the defeatist policies of Obama and Clinton as regards the war in Iraq. It was at this juncture of the speech that Romney revealed his reason for stepping down, and warned of the perils into which a Democratic presidency could lead America.


The speech did not endorse McCain, but rather begged continued commitment for conservative principles and a dedicated opposition to the Democratic nominee. Thus, knowing that many conservatives cannot be won over to warmly support McCain, Romney strongly supported the "anybody-but" theme. If not McCain ... think of the alternatives!


However, one note for the future. Right out of the gate, Romney began his speech with the potentially-prophetic words: "I hope to see you many times in the future...." Be advised, 2012 or 2016 are not so far away in political years....