TAMPA, FL – President Barack Obama referenced an Indiana Republican candidate's controversial comments about rape on Thursday, looking to inject the controversy into the presidential campaign.
The president's campaign has been looking to link comments by Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock -- in which he suggested a higher power intends pregnancies that result from instances of rape -- to Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney, though Obama himself stopped short this morning of drawing a direct connection.
“As we saw again this week, I don’t think any politician in Washington, most of whom are male, should be making health care decisions for women,” Obama said.
Earlier Thursday, the Obama campaign did the work of linking Romney and Mourdock more directly, blasting an email to reporters titled, “Mitt Romney and Richard Mourdock” that said Romney hasn’t reconsidered his endorsement of the Republican Indiana Senate nominee or “ever once stood up to the most extreme elements of his party.”
And Wednesday during a taping of the Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Obama reiterated his stance on rape that he previously articulated during the dustup over Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin’s comment on “legitimate rape.”
“Rape is rape,” he said.
