AP: Romney to suspend campaign

Here's the story:

WASHINGTON (AP) - Mitt Romney will suspend his presidential campaign for the Republican nomination, The Associated Press has learned, effectively ceding the nomination to John McCain.

"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 (Barack) Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror," Romney planned to say in a speech to the Conservative Political Action Conference.

"This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters ... many of you right here in this room ... have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming president. If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country."

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

AP-NY-02-07-08 1230EST

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