Lincoln Chafee Ends President Bid

Former U.S. Sen. and Gov. Lincoln Chafee, D-RI, announced on Friday he was ending his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. 

Earlier this week, former U.S. Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., ended his campaign for the Democratic nomination. On Wednesday, Vice President Joe Biden said he was not entering the race, leaving former U.S. Sec. of State Hillary Clinton, U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and former Gov. Martin O’Malley, D-Md., in the field.

Chafee tried to stand out by noting his opposition to military action in Iraq but he failed to gain any traction. Last week, Chafee took part in the Democratic debate and his performance drew poor reviews across the board. As he bowed out of the race, Chafee returned to his opposition to military action in Iraq.
 
“I have been campaigning on a platform of ‘Prosperity Through Peace.’ But after much thought I have decided to end my campaign for president today. I would like to take this opportunity one last time to advocate for a chance be given to peace,” Chafee said. “When I was a senator, a general from the Pentagon testified before the Foreign Relations Committee on global military powers. I asked him who was second to the U.S. in military might? He thought for a bit and said, ‘probably the U.K.’ Yes that was a few years ago but the point remains true: no real rival to the United States exists when it comes to total weaponry and deployment potential.

 “We are sinking ever deeper and deeper into an endless morass in the Middle East and North Africa,” Chafee added. “People keep dying, and peace seems further and further away. It’s evident that all this military power isn’t working for us right now.