Feb 7, 2008 11:31 pm US/Eastern
A Look Inside Romney's Decision
BOSTON (WBZ) ―
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Mitt Romney and Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., participate in a televised debate at the Florida Atlantic University Kaye Performing Arts Auditorium on Jan. 24, 2008, in Boca Raton, Fla.
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Mitt Romney's decision to suspend his campaign means John McCain has sealed the Republican presidential nomination.
So when did Romney make his decision - and why?
As late as suppertime Wednesday, the entire Romney inner circle believed their man was going to press on with the hope of surfing a wave of conservative discontent with McCain.
But multiple sources tell WBZ News that when Romney sat down in his Belmont home Wednesday night to write his speech for Thursday's Conservative Political Action Conference, he reached the opposite conclusion, that to go forward would damage his party and hurt its chances in November.
We're told there were never any overtures from the McCain campaign to get Romney to drop out, and there is no discussion, at least for now, of any role for Romney in the campaign going forward. Judging from the angry reaction of some in the crowd at Romney's speech, it will take some doing for him to persuade his conservative supporters that he did the right thing at the right time.
So what's next for him?
One top Romney advisor told me Thursday that's like asking a woman who's just given birth if she wants to have another baby.
I think that all depends on what happens this fall. If the McCain campaign fails, the Republican Party will be looking for new leadership and Romney would be on the short list. And I doubt that Mitt Romney is done with politics, it runs in his family, although after his beloved father George ended his bid for president in 1968, he never ran again.
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