I hereby withdraw from the Áras race

Good morning. I would like to take the opportunity of this column to announce that I will not be running for the office of the presidency.

I have come to this position with a heavy heart. My distress is not for myself but for the country and how the future could have been so different.

However, having consulted my circle of advisers, my family, and my ego, I have arrived at the conclusion that it would be in the best interests of the country if I bowed out gracelessly at this point.