Mitt Romney has dropped out of the race for President of the United States. The announcement came in his speech today at the CPAC (Conservative Political Action Committee) meeting. In his withdrawal, he makes the case for supporting McCain despite major differences by citing the necessity for leadership in the war on terror.

Source: Hot Air

Even though we face an uphill fight, I know that many in this room are fully behind my campaign.” You are with me all the way to the convention. Fight on, just like Ronald Reagan did in 1976. But there is an important difference from 1976: today… we are a nation at war.

And Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear regarding Iraq and the war on terror. They would retreat and declare defeat. And the consequence of that would be devastating. It would mean attacks on America, launched from safe havens that make Afghanistan under the Taliban look like child’s play. About this, I have no doubt.

I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.

Source: The Page by Mark Halperin @ TIME

I must admit that Governor Romney makes excellent points here. I have never denied that John McCain would be a far better President on this one single issue than either Hillary or Obama. It is his record on the many other issues that I believe are highly important that has completely turned me off from wanting to ever support him.

So, with Mitt out of the race now, my plans for the very near term are to cast a write in vote for Fred Thompson in the Texas primary. A vote for Fred! will not hurt the party and the purpose of a primary is to vote for someone that you feel can best represent you. For me, that man is still Fred Thompson. But November is still a long way away and I have plenty of time to decide if holding my nose and voting for McCain is something I am physically capable of doing, because right now the stench of The Maverick is quite unbearable.

In a brief statement issued today, Fred Thompson has officially dropped out of the 2008 race for President of the United States:

Today I have withdrawn my candidacy for President of the United States. I hope that my country and my party have benefited from our having made this effort. Jeri and I will always be grateful for the encouragement and friendship of so many wonderful people.

His country is sorely lacking the highest quality of leadership that he alone, amongst the available candidates, could have provided. Fred Thompson was a serious candidate that provided real solutions for the issues facing this nation, but in this age guided by pop culture and influenced by the media his audience was not able to fully grasp that greatness.

His party has certainly benefited from his run because it has deeply, and I believe fatally, wounded the candidacy of Mike Huckabee. The one consolation that I take from the loss of Fred! from the field is that he drew a clear, distinct line between what is conservative and what is not. By so doing, he has saved his party from suffering through the disastrous nomination of someone who is not fit to be President of the United States. A true and competent leader must guide us through this time in which our national security is even more serious and vitally important than ever before and Mike Huckabee is most definitely not that man.

Rumors of his withdrawal from the race were often accompanied by the idea that he would endorse one of his opponents. The man that was assumed to receive that endorsement was his friend John McCain. However, Fred! has once again gone the opposite direction of what was expected and he will not be endorsing anyone.

In the coming days I will be reading up on Mitt Romney so that I can make an informed decision when Texas holds its primary in March. My heart's desire is to still cast a vote for Fred Thompson. However in order to stop the nomination of John McCain, who is not a true conservative Republican, I will probably have to support the one man that I believe can put an end to the Maverick's bid.