Speaking to supporters Tuesday night, Mitt Romney tried his best to sound upbeat about his status in the race for the Republican presidential nomination. But his face told the real story. His smile, when he had one, looked forced, and it seemed that every time he dropped that forced look the corners of his mouth would retreat back into solemnity.

Romney, the former governor of Massachusetts, was expected to be a major player on Super Tuesday, the main challenger to Republican front-runner John McCain. It didn’t work out that way, though, as Mike Huckabee came rushing back from the brink of oblivion to capture victories in multiple Southern states — including at least one Romney had been favored to win — and steal the spotlight.

But in the actual words of his speech, Romney gave no sign that he felt defeated, and vowed to continue. “I think there are some people who thought it was all going be done tonight, but it’s not all done tonight. We’re going to keep on battling. We’re going to go all the way to the convention, we’re going to win this thing, and we’re going to get into the White House,” he said.