Gingrich Quits the Presidential Race, Not the Space Race

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Update (3:42 p.m. EDT): Gingrich mentioned Romney only briefly, to say that sometimes he's asked whether Romney is conservative enough. The answer: "Compared to Obama?" But most of this speech was about Gingrich, and what Gingrich will continue to work on. Under the theme of being an "active citizen," he touched on space exploration, fighting terrorism, and balancing government budgets, all of which he plans to still do. He's still holding out for that moon colony.

Update (3:35 p.m. EDT): "I am not totally certain I will get to the moon colony. I am certain Maggie and Robert will have that opportunity should they choose to take it."

Update (3:33 p.m. EDT): "This is not a choice between Mitt Romney and Ronald Reagan. This is a choice between Mitt Romney and the most radical leftist president in American history." Wait, it's not a choice between Romney and Reagan?

Update (3:31 p.m. EDT): "I'm going to argue for a romantic American future of doing things that matter, that reflect the human spirit."

Update (3:30 p.m. EDT): "I am cheerfully going to take back up the issue of space. My wife has pointed out to me approximately 219 times, give or take 3, that moon colony was not my best quote in this campaign ... but the underlying key point is real. If we're going to be the leading country in the world, we have to be the leading country in space." Glad this will continue to be a priority.

Update (3:25 p.m. EDT): This is kind of funny: Gingrich apologized to South Carolina for breaking its streak of picking Republican nominees, National Journal's Reid Wilson noticed. "He'll feel 'slightly guilty' when he drives thru SC."

Update (3:20 p.m. EDT): There it is, the deed is done: "Today, I'm suspending the campaign, but suspending the campaign does not mean suspending citizenship."

Original: He's given us plenty of time to adjust to the thought: After today, Newt Gingrich will no longer be a candidate for president. Are you ready? You should be. Newt said last week that he would quit on Tuesday, but then on Tuesday said he'd actually be calling things off Wednesday. Finally, the guy's set a time to make the announcement: Right now (actually, they just gave a 10 minute warning, so you can get a snack or something). Let's watch, shall we?

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This article is from the archive of our partner The Wire.