Rick Santorum announced this afternoon that he was suspending his campaign for president, after staying competitive in the Republican primary much longer than most observers predicted.

“We made a decision over the weekend, that while this presidential race for us is over, for me, and we will suspend our campaign today, we are not done fighting,” said the former Pennsylvania senator. Santorum made no mention of presumed GOP nominee Mitt Romney in the speech, but suggested he would help Romney's campaign.

“This game is a long, long, long way from over,” Santorum declared.

President Barack Obama's campaign manager, Jim Messina, released the following statement in response to Sabtorum's decision to bow out of the race:

It’s no surprise that Mitt Romney finally was able to grind down his opponents under an avalanche of negative ads. But neither he nor his special interest allies will be able to buy the presidency with their negative attacks. The more the American people see of Mitt Romney, the less they like him and the less they trust him. While calling himself the ‘ideal candidate’ for the Tea Party, he has promised to return to the same policies that created the economic crisis and has alienated women, middle class families, and Hispanic Americans. Americans value a President who will fight every day to rebuild an economy in which hard work will pay, responsibility is rewarded and everyone plays by the same rules. And that President is Barack Obama.