photo credit - Robert Bluey

Long before the news broke, and by shear accident, I stumbled upon a tip by Byron York over at The Corner. He was reporting from CPAC this morning that rumor had it Mitt Romney was suspending his campaign for President. I reread the post three times, and with hands shaking, immediately shared the news via email with another ardent supporter of Mitts, Vic Lundquist, over at ElectRomney2008. Thankfully, Vic must have been in his office to receive my email and sent a quick response back stating that he hoped it wasn’t true, and thanked me. I’m sure I rocked his world, but Vic’s a pretty level headed guy, and I’m sure he’s heard rumors before. This rumor, however, by Byron York, had an air of credibility to it for some reason. Perhaps because the reason given for Mitt’s resignation was one of selflessness, and that rung true of the man I have come to know, admire and support …. He was doing it for the good of the country, the party, and the war.

I quickly settled down to watch the coverage of CPAC where they cut in late on Laura Ingrahams introduction of Mitt. She looked pale. She appeared shaken, but like the strong lady that she is, she got on with it. As always, Laura spoke with conviction laced with humor, got some great jabs in at McCain by way of her “just calm down” references, and proudly introduced Mitt Romney as the “Conservatives Conservative.”

One wouldn’t have guessed that Mitt had made a life changing decision by his approach to the podium, or the greeting he gave to his faithful supporters. As always, he was cheerful, strong in voice, and warm in facial expression. And then, once again, Mitt Romney delivered a speech that was clear and concise of message, optimistic and visionary in presentation, factual and moving in understanding the challenges of our time. By itself, it was a fantastic speech. The crowd was applauding enthusiastically. I kept waiting for the lead in, where one sentence would lead into the beginning of the announcement of his decision to end his bid for the White House…..and then, like a freight train in the dead of a cold winter’s night, I could hear it coming. If my ears hadn’t been waiting for it, I wouldn’t have recognized it for what it was. But it was there. He was transitioning from what he envisioned, to what was reality, and in an instant he spoke the words I was dreading.

Mitt Romney, Governor, businessman, father, husband, son, leader, man of extraordinary faith & a hero to me, resigned today from his long, hard fought battle for the Presidency of the United States. I’ve been following and working at the grass roots level since Mitt’s announcement to run, and so of course, I cried. My hope & dreams that he was the one man that could bring this country back from the brink…. culturally, economically, and militarily, would be no more. My heart broke for Ann; they gave so very much of themselves to this campaign. As a resident of Iowa, I personally witnessed the amount of time, work, energy and dedication that this family gave to get his campaign off the ground. He came so close, and to my great bewilderment and frustration, the country seemed to be realizing, too little too late, that Mitt Romney would have brought us one step closer to greatness, if only he had been given the chance, been viewed with a more open mind, listened to with less bias, and embraced with a purer heart. And now, it’s too late.

I’m sure I will cry again between now and the election; in frustration, aggravation, and definite sadness for what might have been if we had been smart enough as a nation to not let slip through our fingers the opportunity to have given this wonderful man, Mitt Romney, the chance to lead the greatest nation on earth. In the meantime, like many of the Romney faithful, I will have to ask myself again and again…..”Who am I, if I am not the girl touting Mitt Romney for President?” His reasoning for suspending his campaign gives me pause to realize I will need to reassess my commitment to the party, and more importantly, our conservative cause, and that while it may not be with Mitt as President, the stakes are just too high to sit this one out (as I had recently vowed if Mitt Romney was not elected as the GOP nominee.)

And so it is, that in one final ironic twist of fate, and overpowering the shadow of cynicism and criticalness that was raised about Governor Romney’s service to this country, Mitt Romney DID indeed ultimately make a truly unselfish sacrifice on behalf of this country, the war, and the military for whom he holds in such high regard. It was just his destiny to do it in a different sort of way. Watch his wonderful speech in it’s entirety, and you will begin to understand this too.

Like so many other Romney supporters, it has taken me all day to process the events of Governor Romney’s announcement. I would be remiss to not make a final post, and although it’s somewhat windy, like everything that I have ever done on Governor Romney’s behalf, it is done so with a heartfelt passion that few have ever inspired in me………..for that reason, among many, I will miss his presence and his candidacy. He will, however, forever be an inspiration and driving force in me to speak up, say and do what I believe and know is right.