Read the Fine Print On Mitt Romney’s Concession

As you read through the coverage of Mitt Romney’s speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference today, you may have noticed something a little strange. Some news outlets say that Romney has quit the race, while others say he “suspended” his bid.

It’s not just an unusual word choice on the part of the media. Romney is working the fine print in the Republican party rules. By suspending his campaign, he may be trying to keep his delegates.

According a Boston.com piece by-lined by Foon Rhee a campaign suspension allows the candidate to keep his delegates in case he wants to revive his bid later.

By suspending his campaign, he technically keeps his delegates in case something bizarre happens and he could restart his bid. Romney had 293 delegates, compared to 703 for McCain, of the 1,191 needed for the nomination.

WBZ also says that Romney keeps the delegates.

Romney is not quitting the race. By suspending his campaign, he is allowed to keep his delegates, if something happened to front-runner John McCain’s campaign.

But according to CNN, the individual states decide what happens to Romney’s spoils.

Suspending a campaign has a different meaning depending on the party.

On the Republican side, decisions on how to allocate delegates is left to the state parties.

We called the Republican National Committee to get the official policy on suspending a campaign versus ending it outright, and we’ll let you know when we get the details.