"Rape is an evil act," Senate candidate Todd Akin says at the start of his latest political ad.
It would seem an odd opener, except for the context: The Missouri Republican said in an interview posted Sunday that women usually can't get pregnant from "legitimate rape."
"If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down," he told KTVI.
Since then, he's been eating his words, including in the quickly assembled new ad, called "Forgiveness." It opens with a photo of Akin and his wife. He also mentions his two daughters. Everyone get the message there? Akin and women are 100 percent simpatico.
"The fact is, rape could lead to pregnancy," Akin says, looking into the camera. "The truth is rape has many victims. The mistake I made was in the words I said, not in the heart I hold. I ask for your forgiveness."
So, is "Forgiveness" for Akin forthcoming? A poll by the Democratic firm Public Policy Polling soon after Akin's rape comment found that he leads Democratic U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill by a single percentage point, just as he did in May. But voters strongly disapproved of Akin's comments.
Watch the ad:
