President Obama today called GOP Senate Candidate Todd Akin's statement about rape and pregnancy offensive. So did Mitt Romney, but he wouldn't join other Republicans in calling for Akin should step down.

What he said (in response to a question about his opposition to abortion, even in the case of rape resulting in pregnancy:)

“From what I understand from doctors, that’s really rare,” Akin said. “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down. But let’s assume that maybe that didn’t work or something, I think there should be some punishment, but the punishment ought to be of the rapist, and not attacking the child.”

The RNC Chair called his comments "bizzare" and "biologically stupid" and suggested he forego attending the convention. Missouri Republicans can still select a replacement candidate if Akin drops out by tomorrow at 6 p.m.

Here's the reaction of medical experts to his woefully misinformed view of pregnancy and rape. [More....]

If you missed the Ministry of Truth show on Daily Kos Radio, you can listen to the podcast here:

MoT Show 08.20.2012 by Blue Skies Radio

MP3 available here.

Open Thread.

Erick son of Erick speaks:

Todd Akin will withdraw from the MO Senate race.

Todd Akin, GOP candidate for Senate from Missouri, clarifies that he meant "forcible rape", not "legitimate rape." Akin is saying his views are exactly those of Paul Ryan, and that happens to be true:

Paul Ryan also co-sponsored HR 3, the "No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion" bill in which Republicans tried to redefine rape so that it only applied to "forcible" rape so those fake rape victims would stop exploiting loopholes to cash in on fabulous gifts and prizes.

This is the real story - Todd Akin's views on this are mainstream Republican - which is to say extreme and radical.

The order from the federal district court in Texas (PDF). Discuss.

Politico:

The Donald is gearing up for Tampa. When the Republican National Convention kicks off next Monday, Donald Trump will have a “surprise” role on its first day, people familiar with the matter said Sunday evening.

Why is Romney having a birther featured at his convention? Also too, was Joe Arpaio not available?

I'll be on Daily Kos radio with Jesse LaGreca this morning at 11 Eastern.

We'll be talking about Todd Akin and "legitimate rape" among other things:

So much to watch tonight: Breaking Bad, Weeds, and a new season of the Great Food Truck Race.

There's also a new BBC in America crime series starting, Copper. It's the network's first original scripted series. It takes place in New York's Five Points after the civil war and features an Irish heavy-handed cop ("He does bad things to bad people") in an era in which the cops were as corrupt as the criminals and there was no such thing as Miranda rights. The series was created by Tom Fontana ("Homicide: Life on the Street") and produced by Barry Levinson. The madam is played by Franka Potente, who starred in "Run Lola Run" (a very strange film that I really liked and have seen a few times.) Anyway, it's getting very good reviews all around.

This is an open thread, all topics welcome, TV related or not.

Rudy Giuliani today said Joe Biden is "too unbalanced" to be step into the role of President should that become necessary.

"I don't think he's nuts. I'm just saying I wonder if he's got the kind of balance - probably what I should have said is the balance to be president of the United States," Giuliani said. "This guy is like one gaffe after another, and he's a joke on late-night television."

Earlier this week he said Biden isn't too bright. He was referring to Biden's comment on Tuesday, when speaking to a predominantly African American group, that "Mitt Romney's regulatory policies would "put y'all back in chains."

In 2008, when Sarah Palin used the words "blood libel" in responding to media reports that she may have contributed to the Arizona shootings, which many regarded as anti-Semitic, he defended her. [More...]

Update: Assange spoke from a balcony. He looked healthy. He called for an end to the U.S. war against whistleblowers:

"The United States must vow it will not pursue journalists for shining a light on the secret crimes of the powerful"

Wikileaks' founder Julian Assange is scheduled to give a statement today at 2pm London time from the Ecuadoran embassy.

How will he do it without stepping outside where British police are waiting? [More...]

The New York Times has an editorial today on Obama and Romney/Ryan's dueling and confusing positions on Medicare. It fact checks the major points and concludes:

In the Medicare arena, the choice is between a Democratic approach that wants to retain Medicare as a guaranteed set of benefits with the government paying its share of the costs even if costs rise, and a Republican approach that wants to limit the government’s spending to a defined level, relying on untested market forces to drive down insurance costs.

Beautiful day here. Which means an open thread for you, all topics welcome.