Edwards, Guiliani Drop Out
John Edwards and Rudy Guiliani both announced that they are dropping out of the Presidential nomination race, leaving their respective parties down to two contenders each.
Edwards, a Democrat, said that he is essentially moving out of the way so “history can blaze its path” — though he stopped short of endorsing either Obama or Clinton. He will now turn his attention towards fighting poverty, a cause that has become closely associated with his name.
Here is the full text of Edwards’ statement from New Orleans:
I began my presidential campaign here to remind the country that we, as citizens and as a government, have a moral responsibility to each other, and what we do together matters. We must do better, if we want to live up to the great promise of this country that we all love so much.
It is appropriate that I come here today. It’s time for me to step aside so that history can blaze its path. We do not know who will take the final steps to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, but what we do know is that our Democratic Party will make history. We will be strong, we will be unified, and with our convictions and a little backbone we will take back the White House in November and we’ll create hope and opportunity for this country.
The Republican Giuliani had no reservations about casting his lot with one of the other candidates. He endorsed John McCain as the man “most qualified” to lead the United States, calling the Arizona Senator an “American hero.”
Giuliani’s full speech wasn’t available on his website at the time of this posting, otherwise I would have included it here as well.
These latest developments certainly make things more interesting for Super Tuesday. I can’t wait to see what happens next week!