Dole Leaves Race

12/18/1998 at 12:00 AM EST

Elizabeth Dole abandoned her bid to be America's first female president on Wednesday, as the shadow of Republican front-runner George W. Bush's outsized bankroll loomed over her. "The odds are overwhelming," she told tearful supporters. "It would be futile to continue." With a near-wistful nod to the historic implications, President Clinton (who opposed Elizabeth's husband Bob Dole in the last election) called Dole's departure from the race "a loss to the Republican Party and a loss to the country."