McCaskill, Akin Face Off in First Debate

By Julie Sobel  //  September 21, 2012 | 1:29 p.m.

When the Missouri Senate candidates faced off for their first general election debate Friday morning, the first question broached GOP Rep. Todd Akin's controversial comments on rape -- and Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill said that it wasn't what Akin said, but what he believes, that's the problem. But while both candidates weighed in on the controversy when asked, no one broached the topic again during the rest of the debate.

The debate, which took place at the Missouri Press Association convention and was moderated by the Associated Press's David Lieb, also included Libertarian candidate Jonathan Dine.

The first question dove into Akin's comments that "legitimate" rape rarely results in pregnancy -- remarks that resulted in widespread GOP calls for him to resign from the race, as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Crossroads GPS pulling funding from the race.

Akin pivoted quickly in his answer on the comments, noting that he had addressed them repeatedly. "I don't believe that this election overall is about talk," he said, but "two visions of what America really is."

"I think Congressman Akin's comments opened the windows to his views on Missourians," said McCaskill in answering the question. "I believe his view is extreme, and out of the mainstream." She went on to say that Akin has other extreme views, saying he wants to do away things like student loans and the school lunch program.

"It's not what he said that is the problem," said McCaskill, noting that she believes in emergency contraception for rape victims and he doesn't. "It's what he believes that is the problem."

After addressing the Akin controversy in her answer to the question, McCaskill did not proactively bring it up again in the course of the debate -- possibly holding her fire until the drop-dead deadline for Akin to bow out of the race -- September 25 -- has passed. Akin seems unlikely to step aside at this late date. There were no notable missteps during the debate, in which the two largely stuck to their campaign themes: McCaskill hammered on Akin as extreme and herself as moderate, while Akin repeatedly emphasized a "less government" philosophy and tied McCaskill to President Obama, who is unpopular in the state. The candidates sparred over Obama's health care law: Akin said McCaskill wanted to take $700 billion out of Medicare, which McCaskill called "the biggest whopper of this campaign season." She retorted that the law "does not cut one dime in Medicare benefits," and that Akin had voted to cut that money repeatedly, when he voted for Paul Ryan's budget. As for Dine, his most memorable line might in the debate was probably his closing one: "I promise to keep the Republicans out of your bedroom, and the Democrats out of your wallet."

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