Via The Politico:
Ron Paul appears to have had a Dennis Kucinich moment.
Just as the liberal Ohio congressman realized last month that his long-shot presidential campaign was imperiling his prospects for keeping his House seat, Paul appears to be choosing the comfort of incumbency over a continued effort to win a nomination that he has virtually no shot at capturing.
Last night, the libertarian-leaning Texas congressman sent a message to his supporters signaling that he was scaling back his presidential bid.
The most telling passage: "I also have another priority. I have constituents in my home district that I must serve. I cannot and will not let them down. And I have another battle I must face here as well. If I were to lose the primary for my congressional seat, all our opponents would react with glee, and pretend it was a rejection of our ideas. I cannot and will not let that happen." Read on...
Ron Paul's campaign has been remarkable in many ways. Considered a second tier candidate from the start, one couldn't help but marvel at his fund raising abilities and the voracity of his supporters. Paul held his own during countless Republican debates, many times looking like the only sane person on the stage. While I don't disagree with all his positions and wouldn't have voted for him, I admire his tenacity. It will be interesting to see how his supporters react and where they go from here -- if he drops out, who will they vote for? Paul is a Republican, will they stay with their party or will they turn their support toward the Democratic candidate? How about a third party? Will they vote at all?
