Mitt Romney suspended his presidential campaign while in Washington today to speak at the Conservative Political Action Conference at the Omni Shoreham Hotel on Calvert St. NW.

“If I fight on in my campaign, all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign be a part of aiding a surrender to terror,” Romney told the crowd at CPAC. It’s nice to know that the former Massachusetts governor is dropping out of the race to save us from terrorists, and not because his campaign never really got off the ground.

The annual conservative gathering at CPAC probably needed the extra spice this year, since Ann Coulter is apparently only serving on one measly panel, giving her far too few opportunities to say totally insane shit. CPAC continues through the weekend at the Omni Shoreham.

What’s next for Mitt? The Politico says Romney intends to run again in four years. Mike Huckabee, who fared surprisingly well on Super Tuesday, told the New York Times that he hoped Romney’s conservative supporters would back his campaign.

Photo by Evan Vucci/Associated Press