[Congressional Record Volume 154, Number 20 (Thursday, February 7, 2008)]
[Senate]
[Page S778]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    CONGRATULATIONS TO SENATOR JOHN McCAIN AND GOVERNOR MITT ROMNEY

  Mr. BENNETT. Mr. President, this afternoon, I and a number of others 
who have been supporting Gov. Mitt Romney for the Presidency of the 
United States met with the Governor and his good wife Ann to have a 
postmortem following his announcement that he was suspending his 
campaign.
  I was perhaps the first Member of this Chamber to announce my public 
endorsement of Governor Romney, so I wish to be among the first to 
extend my congratulations to Senator McCain, who has now, by virtue of 
Governor Romney's suspension of his campaign, locked up the Republican 
nomination.
  We all have our understanding of Senator McCain's persistence and his 
determination to go forward in what he considers to be a good cause. 
There has never been a demonstration of the importance of that 
persistence quite as dramatic as his comeback from this campaign.
  We can remember the time when all of the pundits and, frankly, all 
the rest of us, myself very much included, wrote off the McCain 
campaign, assuming that Senator McCain was lying dead in the gutter by 
the side of the road. I remember talking with some of his supporters in 
this Chamber at that time who said the McCain campaign is reeling and 
we don't know whether it is going to ever come back. I remember the 
rumors that flowed around this town, where people said: We cannot raise 
any money for the McCain campaign. No one wants to contribute to a lost 
cause.
  John McCain, perhaps alone--maybe he had the support of his wife; I 
assume he did--said: No, I am going to go forward. He picked himself 
off, took himself off to New Hampshire, and did the same kind of thing 
he did 8 years ago when he ran against President Bush. In this case, he 
not only won New Hampshire, but he was able to expand that to wins 
elsewhere, to the point where we have the result today. So he deserves 
our congratulations as we recognize this truly extraordinary political 
accomplishment on his part.
  I share with my colleagues this comment from Governor Romney. As 
those of us were supporting him from both the House and the Senate were 
gathered around him and talking about this, he shared with us this 
particular insight. He looked at what has happened. He sat down with 
his supporters. He looked for all the reasons why he should feel good. 
They pointed out he had won 4 million votes in the various primaries 
and caucuses and Senator McCain had won 4.7 million. So in terms of the 
voters who supported him, he was not that far behind. He had won 11 
States. Senator McCain had won 13. So on that basis, he was not that 
far behind.
  But the cold calculating reality of it was he was very far behind as 
far as the delegates were concerned. So he said to his advisers and his 
political consultants: What would it take for me to win the nomination? 
And they said to him very bluntly: You must destroy John McCain. That 
was not his word. I don't remember his exact word, but you must go 
negative, to use the vocabulary of the political consultant, in such a 
way as to make it impossible for John McCain to proceed with the 
confidence of the American people. Governor Romney said: I am not going 
to try that. Even if it might work, I don't want to try that. I don't 
want to do that. And he made the decision that was announced today.
  Along with my congratulations to Senator McCain on his extraordinary 
achievement and his assuming the position now as the obvious Republican 
nominee, I also congratulate my friend, Mitt Romney, on the 
graciousness with which he recognized what was happening and his 
willingness to withdraw now rather than drag the party on into a 
protracted fight that would make it very difficult for Senator McCain 
to take control of the levers of power in the party and organize 
himself for the fight in the fall.
  These are two good men, each one of different views, each one of very 
different background, each one of which would bring a different set of 
talents to the Presidency, each one of which has now exposed himself to 
the fire of the primary process. One has emerged victorious; the other 
has recognized that and stepped aside. I think it is a demonstration 
that the American political system, however messy, works.
  Again, I extend my congratulations to Senator McCain.
  I yield the floor and suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. DURBIN. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.

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