The Agony Of The Akin

August 21, 2012 -- ANALYSIS:Last week the brand new GOP ticket spent all their time defending their record on Medicare.

Yesterday it was abortion as Mitt Romney was forced to wade into a controversy not of his own making.

In an interview with New Hampshire television station WMUR, Romey said that Missouri senate candidate Todd Akin "should understand that his words with regards to rape are not words that I can defend."Romney added, "He should spend 24 hours considering what will best help the country at this critical time."The one thing the duo of Romney and Ryan have yet to have any sustained discussion about thus far -- the economy.

So will pushing Akin out end the conversation? Not likely.

Get more pure politics at ABCNews.com/Politics and a lighter take on the news at OTUSNews.com

As CNN reports: "The Republican Party is once again set to enshrine into its official platform support for 'a human life amendment' to the Constitution that would outlaw abortion without making explicit exemptions for rape or incest, according to draft language of the platform."

This, of course, gives Democrats more ammunition for their argument that the GOP is out of touch on issues that matter to women voters -- a message that the Obama campaign and their allies pushed yesterday.

"While Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan are working overtime to distance themselves from Rep. Todd Akin's comments on rape, they are contradicting their own records," Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said in a statement.

And, as ABC's David Muir and Devin Dwyer note, Democrats were also attempting to tie running mate Paul Ryan with Akin even more directly.

"Congressman Ryan has already partnered with Akin on a whole host of issues that restrict women's ability to make their own health care decisions," Democratic National Committee Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz wrote in an e-mail blast to supporters.

Nevertheless, senior Romney campaign strategist Stuart Stevens told Muir that he was confident that Democratic efforts to tie Ryan to Akin through their previous work together would not stick.