Mitt Romney (R-MA) has ended his quest for the White House, leaving the Republican field to recently-crowned front runner John McCain (R-AZ), Mike Huckabee (R-AR) and Ron Paul (R-TX). Most observers are translating this as signifying a lock on the Republican nomination for McCain.
McCain may still have some competition ahead with the two other candidates still standing, but in general, it means that he will be able to rebuild his warchest for the general election and concentrate in the meantime on mending relations with factions of the party which have been loudly proclaiming their dissatisfaction with his candidacy. Among the loudest have been the conservative talkers led by Rush Limbaugh, Laura Ingraham and Sean Hannity.
The situation is entirely different on the Democratic side, where Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and Barack Obama (D-IL) are locked in a highly competitive duel that may run all the way to the convention. Both campaigns are pulling in cash and getting ready to spend it during the remains of the primary season.
