Long shot GOP candidate Ron Paul suggests he is dropping out the presidential race, noting in a YouTube video posted Thursday night that his “campaign will soon wind down” and it is time for supporters to continue the “revolution” in another way.

“The presidential campaign will soon wind down…let us hope that we can one day look back and say that this campaign was a significant first step that signaled a change in direction for our country,” Paul said. “Our job now is to plan for the next phase…elections are short term efforts, revolutions are long term projects.”

In the nearly 8 minute video, Paul makes no mention of the Republican party or presumptive nominee, Sen. John McCain.

When Mitt Romney dropped out of the race, he dropped a line in his speech that didn’t sit well with Senator Barack Obama. Addressing the Conservative Political Action Conference, Romney declared, “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.”

When the Democratic co-frontrunner was asked by a reporter to comment on Romney’s decision to leave the race on a flight from New Orleans to Omaha, Obama demurred. “I don’t really have much of a reaction,” he said, fielding another question.

But when asked to respond to Governor Romney’s line that the Democrats would, in essence, surrender to terror, Obama opened up. “That’s the kind of poorly thought out comment that lead him to drop out,” Obama said. “It’s a classic attempt to appeal to people’s fears that will not work in this campaign. I think that’s part of the reason he was such an ineffefctive candidate.”

What did he mean by “poorly thought out?” Obama explained, “No Democrat has suggested we surrender to terrorism. Democrats have suggested that we start withdrawing out of Iraq so we can focus our attention on terrorism. But you know it’s a classic example of trying to conflate the war against real enemies with the failed strategy of the Bush Administration in Iraq. And it’s those sort of glib statements that I think got Romney consistently in trouble in this race.”

But will he miss Mitt on the stump? When talking about illegal immigration, Obama often jokes that if the U.S. were to round up illegal immigrants, they’d be spending resources catching busboys and those who work on Mitt Romney’s lawn. At a December town hall in New Hampshire, Obama said, “We’d clear out some of the prisons to make room for somebody who’s a housekeeper at Mitt Romney’s house. That was just a joke. I couldn’t resist. He’s an example of somebody who, ‘Oh, we gotta be real tough. But my lawn, you know, is important.’ “

And once at a pre-Halloween town hall in Iowa, Obama declared, “I am thinking about wearing a Mitt Romney mask, but it has two sides to it. It goes in both directions at once.”

Burbank, CA — Rudy Giuliani announced that he will be withdrawing from the presidential race and will be endorsing Sen. John McCain during a media availability on his plane this afternoon. He landed in Burbank, California at about 1:45 pm,Pacific Time and is headed to the Reagan Library to make the formal announcement at 3pm.

Some highlights:

“I called some of our strong supporters and thanked them earlier today and also told them what I think you all now know, which is I am gonna endorse John McCain. It’s disappointing to lose a race for president because you believe you’re the best candidate, but I had made it clear before I had to make this decision who I thought the other best candidate was. I think I made it clear during a debate that if I had not been running, I would be supporting John McCain. So I’m not running, and I’m supporting John McCain and he is far away the best person to be the commander in chief of the United States.”

Any quid pro quo/VP slot?

“There is absolutely no understanding on any position in government. I am not seeking any position in government. I am going to be a very enthusiastic and active supporter of John McCain. I have offered, anything he or his campaign believe I can do, I will do for them……I’ve also called a lot of my people, as many as I could in this short period of time, and asked them to support Sen. McCain and so far no one has said that they wouldn’t. Some have said yes, some are thinking about it…….I’m not seeking the vice president nomination. It’s way too premature for anybody to be speculating about vice presidential candidates. I’m not seeking a position in government.”

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Senator John Edwards phoned Senator Barack Obama yesterday when Obama was in El Dorado, Kansas. According to Obama staffers, Edwards told Obama he was likely to drop out of the race, but had not yet made a decision. They two also talked about poverty, an issue for which Edwards has championed during his campaign for the presidency.

Staffers confirmed that Edwards phoned Obama again this morning prior to the candidate’s Denver rally to inform him that he was, in fact, dropping out. The two did not discuss an endorsement, but staffers say obviously Obama would like Edwards’ support going forward.

“I congratulated him on a great race and what a gracious way to end by going back to New Orleans,” Obama said to a reporter before talking to an overflow crowd at his Denver rally. When asked what impact Edwards’ departure would have on the race, Obama answered, “I don’t know.”

Here’s what Obama said about Edwards to a crowd of about 9,000 in Denver: