John McCain effectively sealed the Republican nomination on Thursday as chief rival Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the White House.

Prevailing in most Super Tuesday states, John McCain took a huge lead over both Romney and Mike Huckabee and moving closer to the delegate totals needed to officially win the nomination.

Romney leaving the race erases any doubt.

Saying he “must now stand aside, for our party and our country,” Romney evoked the failed campaign of Rudy Giuliani and proved himself even more of a cheap hack than thought by playing the terror card!

“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 Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington.

NOTE: No word on whether Sens. Clinton or Obama were inspired by Mitt and plan to unveil a new “Surrender to Terror! Vote Democrat!” slogan.

Today was the end of the line for Mitt Romney.

He notched a series of wins and won delegates throughout the campaign, but in the end, Romney couldn’t overcome two obstacles:

1. Conservative or not, the image of him as a shameless opportunist and flip-flopper stuck, while McCain is anything bit.
2. Huckabee not only stayed in a race Romney tried to turn into a two-person affair, he staged a mini-comeback Super Tuesday.

As for the analysis of why Mitt Romney quit, remember who we’re talking about. He cited the war in Iraq - a pro-McCain statement - but nothing he says can be taken at face value. Wheels are surely in motion.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution opines that in his 22-minute address, Mitt Romney may have been pitching himself as the liaison between John McCain and the GOP’s most conservative elements.

In other words, with the rapid progression of his departure / implicit endorsement of McCain, is Romney still trying to supplant Huckabee as the true conservative in this race - and angling for the #2 spot?