In primary, when to say goodbye is tougher than how to say it

WASHINGTON -- Chin up, ego beaten down, any bitterness squashed deep inside, a flash of humor helps: As presidential primary candidates fall away, one by one, there's an etiquette and timing to bowing out gracefully.

It's not always observed, of course.

"I'm not a beaten man, I'm an angry and defiant man," Gary Hart declared when a dalliance with Donna Rice forced him from the 1988 Democratic race.

After losing the '68 nomination, anti-Vietnam War candidate Eugene McCarthy snubbed Democratic nominee Hubert Humphrey. His grudging endorsement a week before Election Day was too little, too late -- and the party blamed him for Humphrey's loss to Richard Nixon.

Most candidates stick to the script, however. This time around, Democrats Bob Graham, Carol Moseley Braun, Dick Gephardt, Joe Lieberman and Wesley Clark have uttered some version of the "my campaign is over but the fight goes on" speech.

Howard Dean and John Edwards may be next, if John Kerry continues his winning streak. Dean said he would reassess his campaign after today's voting in Wisconsin, where Kerry again led in the polls. Edwards insisted he would press on.

March 2, with contests in 10 states, is widely considered the do-or-die date.

"Edwards is gambling that some unforeseen thing might surface and Kerry might stumble badly before Super Tuesday," said Kenneth Warren, a political science professor at St. Louis University.

Knowing when to fold can be tough. The general election creates a mathematical loser, with no choice but to concede once the votes are counted (or recounted). The primaries follow a fuzzier math.

"You come to trust your instincts to tell you it's over," Bob Dole said as he closed his second presidential campaign. He finally won the Republican nomination in 1996.

Formerly serious contenders who lag in electoral votes may face pressure from within their own party to give up. Democratic leaders have been outspoken this year in calling for an early wrap-up to unify the party against President Bush.

At some point the only thing left is to make a good final impression, whether as groundwork for the next race or for the history books.

"It's important to do it gracefully, even though you might feel very bitter and resentful," Warren said.

Perhaps the nation's most famous -- and succinct -- exit line came in '68, when Vietnam protests and surprisingly strong primary challenges drove out a sitting president.

At the end of a televised address, Lyndon Johnson startled the nation by declaring: "I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president."