Romney's quitting?

Romney's not outright leaving the race, but the fact that he's not buying any advertising in the Feb 5 states seems to indicate he's all but given up.

Several officials said that on the heels of a defeat in Tuesday's Florida primary, Romney's campaign was not attempting to purchase television advertising time in any of the 21 states on the calendar for Feb. 5.

Instead, the former Massachusetts governor's current plans call for campaigning in California and other primary states, said the officials, who had knowledge of the internal discussions. There would be organizational efforts primarily for caucus states.

Sitting on the polls where they are and letting McCain take whacks at him is not a winning strategy. He's down to hoping.

A little later: Romney's spokesman contacted TPM to tell them they would be buying some unspecified ad time. (Sounds more like an effort to put off this interpretation than a real effort.)

Later Still: Romney's campaign is pushing the word "significant" related to the ad buy. (And it's coming out of his pocket.)