Romney Quits Race  —  Says time of war is not the right time to continue GOP fight: “I feel I have to stand aside.”  —  Read full remarks at the CPAC conference here.  —  Did not endorse McCain.  —  AP: Decision effectively cedes nomination to McCain.  —  HALPERIN'S TAKE: TEN THINGS MITT ROMNEY COULD HAVE DONE DIFFERENTLY

AP has Excerpts of Romney's Drop Out Speech  —  “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 (Barack) Obama would win.  And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign …

Message from David Plouffe: Matching the Five Million  —  David Plouffe just sent out this email...

And Obama Wept  —  Inspiration is nice.  But some folks seem to be getting out of hand.  —  It's as if Tom Daschle descended from on high saying, “Be not afraid; for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy which shall be to all the people: for there is born to you this day in the city …

McCAIN AND THE GOP....By now, everybody knows that the Senate version of the economic stimulus bill failed to overcome a Republican filibuster yesterday.  You need 60 votes for that, and the final tally was 59-40.  (Harry Reid changed his vote at the end for parliamentary reasons, so the reported tally was 58-41)

CPAC: Dick Cheney Speech Live-Blog  —  Dick Cheney is giving one of the first speeches here at CPAC.  He got a very warm welcome from the crowd, which is SRO.  The Cheney we're seeing now is the relaxed and funny speaker that we've known from many speeches here and other places.

Sharia law in UK is ‘unavoidable’  —  The Archbishop of Canterbury says the adoption of certain aspects of Sharia law in the UK “seems unavoidable”.  —  Dr Rowan Williams told Radio 4's World at One that the UK has to “face up to the fact” that some of its citizens do not relate to the British legal system.

Obama Advisers Foresee a Delegate Draw With Clinton  —  Feb. 7 (Bloomberg) — Barack Obama's advisers are anticipating the possibility of a Democratic presidential race deadlocked past the last primary, and the outcome may hinge on a fight over whether delegations from Florida and Michigan …

CPAC to all CPAC-ers: Don't boo McCain  —  John McCain may have it easier than he expected today when he commandeers the podium at CPAC this afternoon.  Conservatives from all over will predictably fill the room to the brim to listen to what the now GOP front-runner has to say, despite a hate/love relationship with the guy.

McCain seeks truce with right-wing critics  —  John McCain, whose Super Tuesday performance has given him an aura of inevitability in the eyes of many Republican leaders, has begun an aggressive campaign to quell conservative dissent and prevent an outbreak of GOP buyer's remorse.

Religious police in Saudi Arabia arrest mother for sitting with a man  —  A 37-year-old American businesswoman and married mother of three is seeking justice after she was thrown in jail by Saudi Arabia's religious police for sitting with a male colleague at a Starbucks coffee shop in Riyadh.