memeorandum: Todd Akin: 'I've Not Yet Begun To Fight' (Evan McMorris-Santoro/Talking Points Memo)

6:15 PM ET, August 20, 2012

Top Items:

Romney: Akin's ‘Inexcusable’ Comment — In a phone interview this morning, Mitt Romney told National Review Online that Representative Todd Akin's recent comment on rape is “inexcusable.” — “Congressman's Akin comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong,” Romney said.

David Taintor / Talking Points Memo:

Reports: Akin Advisers Make Preparations For Withdrawal Tomorrow — Missouri Republican Senate candidate Todd Akin's advisers are making preparations to withdraw from the race Tuesday, GOP operative Richard Grenell and RedState.com editor Erick Erickson report.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland and Daily Kos

Alexander Burns / Politico:

Crossroads pulls out of Missouri after Akin comments — The conservative outside-spending powerhouse Crossroads GPS is pulling its ads from the Missouri Senate race, three sources confirmed to POLITICO. — The group had originally booked a new round of ads to start Wednesday but began canceling them earlier today.

Discussion: Mediaite, CNN, Ballot Box, The Fix, Election 2012, Business Insider, The Daily Caller, Hotline On Call and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

National Review:

Step Aside, Todd Akin — Representative Todd Akin, the Republican nominee for Senator from Missouri, became nationally notorious yesterday for saying something stupid. In the course of explaining why he believes abortion should be illegal even when pregnancies result from rape …

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Politico, CNN, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, The Daily Beast, Todd Akin for U.S. Senate 2012 and Mediaite

Michelle Malkin:

The Todd Akin mess — Ugh. — Over the weekend, GOP Rep. Todd Akin — the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Missouri — said some really, really stupid things. (Twitchy has comprehensive coverage. Click here and keep scrolling.) — There's no sugar-coating or whitewashing this.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Politico, Hot Air, The Other McCain, RealClearPolitics Video Log, Wake up America, Datechguy's Blog, Washington Examiner, Conservatives4Palin, Twitchy and The Raw Story

Tony Perkins / CNN:

Leading social conservatives rally to Akin's defense — Tampa, Florida (CNN) - While much of the Republican universe spent Monday condemning Missouri Senate hopeful Todd Akin for his comments about “legitimate rape” and abortion, one of the nation's most prominent conservative organizations rallied to his defense.

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Politico, Pirate's Cove, Daily Kos, The Maddow Blog, The Moderate Voice and Poynter, more at Mediagazer »

Noah Bierman / Boston Globe:

Scott Brown calls on Akin to drop out of Missouri Senate race — In a rare intra-party rebuke, Senator Scott Brown called on Missouri Representative Todd Akin this morning to withdraw from the US Senate race in his state, after Akin made controversial remarks on rape.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, First Read, New York Magazine, Politicker, WPRI.com Blogs, Outside the Beltway, The PJ Tatler and National Review, more at Mediagazer »

BuzzFeed:

Mitt Romney Said In 2007 He Would Be “Delighted” To Sign A Bill Banning All Abortions Nationally — The Romney campaign released a statement criticizing Missouri Republican Senate nominee Todd Akin: “Gov. Romney and Congressman Ryan disagree with Mr. Akin's statement, and a Romney-Ryan administration …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Atlantic Wire, ThinkProgress, The Caucus, Truthdig, ABCNEWS, The Maddow Blog and The Hinterland Gazette

BuzzFeed:

Republican Source: Akin Moving To Withdraw — The controversial candidate is “taking concrete steps.” UPDATE: Another Republican close to Akin says he's “in the campaign.” — Rep. Todd Akin, left. — Image by Orlin Wagner / AP — Missouri Republican Todd Akin has begun moving toward ending …

Discussion: The PJ Tatler and The Daily Caller

Sarah Kliff / Associated Press:
Rep. Todd Akin is wrong about rape and pregnancy, but he's not alone

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, The Lede, rightwingwatch.org, Washington Post, The Daily Beast, The New Civil Rights Movement, The Daily Caller, The Maddow Blog, Guardian, ThinkProgress, CNN, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Washington Monthly and The Raw Story

Evan McMorris-Santoro / Talking Points Memo:
Todd Akin: 'I've Not Yet Begun To Fight'

Discussion: Show Me Progress, Shakesville, Stinque, thenation.com/blogs/164578, The Atlantic Online, ThinkProgress, Alas, a Blog and The Reaction

Garance Franke-Ruta / The Atlantic Online:
A Canard That Will Not Die: ‘Legitimate Rape’ Doesn't Cause Pregnancy

Kaili Joy Gray / Daily Kos:
Todd Akin clarifies he's on the same page as Paul Ryan on ‘forcible rape’

Discussion: Firedoglake, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, Taylor Marsh and Mediaite

Washington Post:
National GOP pulls funding from Todd Akin's Missouri race

Discussion: ThinkProgress, The Moderate Voice, 2012 Decoded, Talking Points Memo and The Mahablog

BuzzFeed:
Family Research Council Backs Akin

Discussion: ThinkProgress and The New Civil Rights Movement

Pema Levy / Talking Points Memo:
'God's Little Shield': A Short History Of The False No-Pregnancy-From-Rape Theory

Discussion: Midwest Democracy, Los Angeles Times, Taking Note and Guardian

Rosalind S. Helderman / Election 2012:
Jim Talent won't replace Akin

Discussion: Hot Air, Conservatives4Palin and National Review

Aaron Blake / The Fix:
Republicans pull money from Missouri

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, The Daily Beast, Hotline On Call, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:
Akin Comments Could Swing Missouri Senate Race

Discussion: Politico, The Daily Beast, First Read, Midwest Democracy, The PJ Tatler, The Daily Dish, Midwest Voices, Election 2012, BuzzFeed, Talking Points Memo, Mother Jones, The Political Carnival, The Page, The Hinterland Gazette, The New Civil Rights Movement and The Caucus

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
Obama On Todd Akin: ‘Rape Is Rape’

Discussion: Fox News, The Political Carnival, AEIdeas, Josh Blackman's Blog and Talking Points Memo

New York Times: Republicans Decry Todd Akin's Rape Remarks

Byron Tau / Politico:
Obama: ‘Rape is rape’

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Hinterland Gazette

BuzzFeed:
Todd Akin Says He Won't Drop Out

Discussion: The Raw Story

James Fallows / The Atlantic Online:

As a Harvard Alum, I Apologize — Yes, I know, you could imagine many sentences that would follow that headline. But here is what I have in mind right now: A tenured professor of history at my undergraduate alma mater has written a cover story for Daily Beast/Newsweek that is so careless …

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Noahpinion, Balloon Juice, Business Insider and The Daily Beast

Niall Ferguson / The Daily Beast:

Newsweek Cover Rebuttal: Paul Krugman Is Wrong — The liberal New York Times blogger objected to ‘multiple errors and misrepresentations’ in this week's Newsweek cover story on Obama's record in office. Author Niall Ferguson rebuts the charges. — You know you have hit the target …

Discussion: Instapundit, New York Magazine, The Glittering Eye and NewsBusters.org blogs

Dylan Byers / Politico:

Niall Ferguson's ridiculous defense — Niall Ferguson's selective edit of the CBO report on Obama's Affordable Care Act. — Niall Ferguson, author of this week's Newsweek cover story calling for Obama's ousting, has returned fire on Paul Krugman — albeit in a ridiculous, misleading …

Discussion: The Atlantic Online and The Daily Dish

J. Bradford DeLong / Brad DeLong:

More Lies from Niall Ferguson: Fire-His-Ass-Now Department — Niall Ferguson writes: … The “But” at the start of the second sentence in the quote tells readers two things: (i) that Obama has violated his pledge—that he promised that the ACA would not increase the deficit, but that it did …

Discussion: Economist's View

Matthew O'Brien / The Atlantic Online: A Full Fact-Check of Niall Ferguson's Very Bad Argument Against Obama

Paul Krugman:
Unethical Commentary, Newsweek Edition

Discussion: Firedoglake, Business Insider, New York Magazine, NewsBusters.org blogs, No More Mister Nice Blog, Mother Jones, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Wake up America, Conservatives4Palin, Mediaite, The Daily Dish, Brad DeLong, The Maddow Blog, Crooks and Liars, Wizbang and Scared Monkeys, more at Mediagazer »

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

POLITICO e-book: Obama campaign roiled by conflict — President Barack Obama's campaign team, celebrated four years ago for its exceptional cohesion and eyes-on-the-prize strategic focus, has been shadowed this time by a succession of political disagreements and personal rivalries that haunted the effort at the outset.

Discussion: News Desk, The Lonely Conservative, Althouse, Election 2012, nation.foxnews.com, Business Insider, Marbury, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Belmont Club, The Glittering Eye, Algemeiner.com, Right Wing News, Weekly Standard and Jammie Wearing Fools

TMZ.com:

Phyllis Diller Dead — Legendary Comic Dies at 95 — Dead at 95 — EXCLUSIVE DETAILS — Comedian Phyllis Diller — who paved the way for today's female comics — died this morning, TMZ has learned. — Sources close to Diller tell us the comedian died in her sleep at her L.A. home, surrounded by family.

Discussion: BuzzFeed and Towleroad News #gay

Mackenzie Weinger / Reuters:

Study: Red states more charitable — Red states give more money to charity than blue states, according to a new study on Monday. — The eight states with residents who gave the highest share of their income to charity supported Sen. John McCain in 2008, while the seven states …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Hot Air and The PJ Tatler

The Chronicle of Philanthropy: America's Generosity Divide

Trip Gabriel / The Caucus:

Ryan Dips Into Foreign Policy — GOFFSTOWN, N.H. — Since Representative Paul D. Ryan was named the vice-presidential nominee, his schedule has included briefings on foreign policy with a top aide to Mitt Romney, with the Republican Party sensitive to the charge that neither man on the ticket has extensive national security experience.

Discussion: Washington Post and Election 2012

Byron Tau / Politico:
Obama campaign wants to see Romney's ‘secret plan’ on Afghanistan

Discussion: CNN and GOP 12

ESPN:

Augusta adds first woman members — NEW YORK — For the first time in its 80-year history, Augusta National Golf Club has female members. — The home of the Masters, under increasing criticism the past decade because of its all-male membership, invited former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice …

Discussion: DealBook, Taking Note, Newsy, newsfeed.time.com, Taylor Marsh and Wonkette

Daniel Strauss / The Hill:
Condoleezza Rice among the first female members at Augusta National Golf Club

Discussion: Associated Press, The Moderate Voice, Lean Left and CNN

Alexis Levinson / The Daily Caller:

Shock poll: Obama could lose Illinois — President Barack Obama could lose his home state of Illinois in November, a new poll shows. — A poll conducted by Illinois-based pollster and political strategist Michael McKeon found Obama leading Republican Mitt Romney by 49 percent to 37 percent in Cook County, the home of Chicago.

Discussion: Hot Air and Clayton Cramer's Blog