Huckabee Drops Out Of GOP Race

Following Tuesday's Losses, Former Arkansas Governor Leaves Race; Bush To Endorse McCain

(CBS)  Mike Huckabee dropped out of the race for the GOP presidential nomination Tuesday night.

CBS News confirms that President Bush will endorse presumptive GOP nominee John McCain on Wednesday. McCain will travel to the White House to receive the endorsement and have lunch with the president.

"What a journey," Huckabee told supporters in Texas Tuesday night. "A journey of a lifetime."

McCain has been projected by CBS News to win Tuesday's contests in Texas, Ohio, Vermont and Rhode Island. He entered the day with just under 1,000 delegates, and his wins gave him the 1,191 delegates he needed to clinch the nomination.

"I want to commend again, my friend, Governor Mike Huckabee, and his supporters, for their passionate commitment to their campaign that Governor Huckabee so ably represented," McCain told supporters in Dallas, Texas, Tuesday night, according to his prepared remarks.

Huckabee, who won the GOP's first contest in Iowa, had been continuing to campaign despite McCain emerging after Super Tuesday as the likely Republican nominee. He had come under increasing pressure from Republican leaders to drop out of the race so that McCain could shift his focus to the general election.

"We stayed in until the race was over," Huckabee said Tuesday night. He noted there were people who "didn't think we would make it to March '07, let alone March '08."

Huckabee, a Baptist minister and former Arkansas governor, won the GOP contests in Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia, Tennessee, West Virginia, Louisiana and Kansas in addition to Iowa. He had hoped for a surprise victory in Texas based on support from the state's social conservative voters, but fell short.

Huckabee told supporters Tuesday that McCain "has run an honorable campaign because he is an honorable man."

"For Huckabee, he leaves the race with increased stature and a possible future in Republican presidential politics," said CBSNews.com Senior Political Editor Vaughn Ververs. "His refusal to engage McCain in a negative manner over the past several weeks leaves him with a lot of goodwill among the party's rank-and-file."

[ezslimtoday]

Mike Huckabee rocks! Proved his mettle by losing over 100 pounds. Anyone with that kind of discipline can surely govern. (www.ezslimtoday.com)

[edith3ed]

Gov. Huckabee, we salute you. We are so sad you did not win this time; but thank you for being our voice. We will rally around you for 2012. That gives us four years to establish a strong organization and raise lots of funds to support you again. Thanks you for running; thank you for staying in the race as our voice; thank you for speaking for us. God bless you!

[elkc]

Huck''s out! Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition!

[singindick]

Muckabee is a quitter.

[singindick]

Muckabee lost his faith.

[KYJurisDoctor]

And someone needs to remind John McCain to be true to himself, and NOT pander to the right "wing nuts", if he wants to win in November, with the support of Independents and moderate Republicans -- the REAL Conservatives!!

http://OsiSpeaks.com or http://RealConservativesSpeak.com

[singindick]

Thank you, Gov. Huckabee, for staying in the race as long as you did to be the voice of white heterosexual christians! There are thousands upon thousands of us whom you represent. We value the life of every white human, born and unborn; we cherish the family and the freedom for religious beliefs--whose ever they may be, so long as they are not atheist, gay, jewish or muslim, which are all one in the same (satanic). We want better schools that teach creationism, less tax for corporations and the wealthy, and less government that would prohibit racial discrimination, protect the environment, or prohibit corporate monopolies. We want a balanced budget in Washington at the expense of the poorest americans. Your expertise is what we need in the White House -- hopefully, McCain will choose you as his running mate in order to secure the vote of the American Taliban!

[jeff-fla]

What a great day for America. I have had no better news, than this nut dropping out of the race. To bad there isn''t an I.Q. test for president. Better yet, before running they need to take the MMPI test.

[midclssrep]

The funny thing is, now that my candidate, Huckabee, has officialy lost, I don''t feel any bitterness. I think this is because Mike Huckabee believed in himself, remained true to his convictions, and actually listened to his supporters who wanted him to continue on. You see, we believe in the things Mike Huckabee stands for, serious tax reform in the FairTax, a real commitment to the energy resources of the United States and energy independence from foreigners, the Human Life Amendment to defend the Constitution from activist judges and protect the inalienable and God-given right to life of pre-born human beings, a Veterans'' Bill of Rights, allocating 6% of our budget to the military like Reagan did, investing in our infrastructure, a written pledge to secure our borders and never allow amnesty, "vertical politics" which means helping all of our citizens move up, and much, much more.

Thank you Mike. Go Huck!

[candide777]

the Human Life Amendment to defend the Constitution from activist judges and protect the inalienable and God-given right to life of pre-born human beings . . .
Posted by midclssrep at 11:40 PM : Mar 04, 2008

Are you sure they need protection? We already have a pre-born human as president, so I think they are doing okay.

[kansas1946]

Poor Republicans. What to do????? They don''t like McCain, they don''t like Obama, and they hate Clinton. Poor Republicans.

[pentecostal4]

Mike and Janet Huckabee what a fantastic effort you have made in your run for the White House. Mike you have carried out your candidacy with honour and dignity. I love how you have kept your campaign Christ centred and have chosen not to speak ill of John McCain. I''m sorry to see you miss out but believe that God will honour you as you have honoured Him. I do pray that John McCain will chose you for his "Running Mate" and that you both are elected President and Vice President of the United States of America. God bless you abundantly. You have been humble and gracious in defeat....but then you are not defeated as God knows your heart which is towards Him and for the good of all America. Sincerely, Pauline Gray, Queensland, AUSTRALIA

[cjordan2x]

McCain will not win the south without the right wing conservative vote and he''s not getting mine. What a dillema!

[fibonacci_]

Wow, maybe Jesus didnt want him to be president after all!

[bdrlnt4rl]

ya know god works in mysterious ways. he claims to be christian, but yet is very hypocritical with religious intolerance. maybe when you offend god, you desires are not met.

plus, we need a pres, not a preacher. we need someone to be pres who will see all people equally and not use the pres of the united state to spread the word of god. that is not up to the pres and god knows that.

i am just glad that the tornadoes will not devestate texas because they were wise enough not to vote for huck.

good job mr huckabee. it was fun watching the race.

my hat is off to him for having a good time and enjoying his campaign.

[bdrlnt4rl]

mike:''what shall we do now honey''

jane:'' i think i want to go back to my trailer house in the hills of arkansas and eat a squirrel''

mike:''sounds yummy, janet, i will go in the hills and shoot you one as soon as we get back to the trailer, maybe i will get you a hog too''

janet:''thank you mike, i have to take my shoes off, ya know i am not used to wearing shoes.

[quetzal0666]

wooooohoooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo wooooooooooooo

woooooooo.... this is great news.......
no baptist preacher as president.......

God i love it......

[twocanpete]

Today is great disapointment for the conservative movement. We now have three democrats to choose from and Juan McCain is the poorest candidate of those three. http://twocanpete.blogspot.com

[noregion5]

The same CBS commentors that "bucked" Huck for his baptist religion now use it to their advantage for an insult to a human being that holds an unstanding behavior for the common people. Definately, the coraporate monger attitude that are out for A number one, hats off to Mike Huckabee and people like this that can enjoy the ruins of humanity without a blink. I still like Mike and when/if WWIII ends and America still stands you''ll be honored for a guy like Mike to have concern for the peoples needs.

[bdrlnt4rl]

you''''ll be honored for a guy like Mike to have concern for the peoples needs.

Posted by noregion5

*****************

maybe you mean for the evangelicals needs. the other people will be on the front line of ww111 because he does not like people who go to other churches. he has made that very clear.

he will be the cause of ww111 because of his religious intolerance and sly work of words.

[bdrlnt4rl]

mike:''''what shall we do now honey''''

janet:'''' i think i want to go back to my trailer house in the hills of arkansas and eat a squirrel''''

mike:''''sounds yummy, janet, i will go in the hills and shoot you one as soon as we get back to the trailer, maybe i will get you a hog too''''

janet:''''thank you mike, i have to take my shoes off, ya know i am not used to wearing shoes.

[bdrlnt4rl]

and who has been praying???? and whose prayers does god listen to?????

[wfbdem]

I think we can all look forward to the time when these three theories are given equal time in our science classrooms across the country, and eventually the world; One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.

May the noodley appendage of the FSM touch us all.

[fibonacci_]

We can all celebrate this. Religious nuts out! Christianity is a religion!

[candide777]

One third time for Intelligent Design, one third time for Flying Spaghetti Monsterism, and one third time for logical conjecture based on overwhelming observable evidence.
Posted by wfbdem at 04:10 PM : Mar 05, 2008

Totally! As our frighteningly intelligent president would say, "All three sides of the story should be told!" It''s high time the evolutionists and the creationists stopped trying to suppress the third and coincidentally most viable option: Flying Spaghetti Monsterism (a.k.a. Unintelligent Design).

[fibonacci_]

I find Flying Spaghetti Monsterism very plausible.

[tfzalud]

Huckabee obviously is not familiar with how the nominee is picked. His actions also show that he really didn''t want to be President in the first place.