U.S. Senate Candidate Todd Akin is dismissing the controversy over his use of the word “ladylike” to describe his opponent, Claire McCaskill.
Referring to the first debate between the two candidates Akin said that McCaskill wasn’t behaving as “ladylike” as she did in her first campaign for Senate in 2006.
McCaskill rebuked Akin’s choice of words during an interview on MSNBC’s Morning Joe, saying that she is once again "at a loss" to describe Todd Akin.
At a campaign stop in Kansas City Congressman Akin responded to reporters’ questions saying he doesn’t see anything offensive in his use of the term.
“We’ve got a couple words in the English language, one is a gentleman and a lady…in the President we have a 'First Lady,' in churches there is a 'First Lady,'" Akin said. “I think those are pretty self-explanatory terms.”
“It seems that some people want to take offense at words; it seems to me that the offensive thing is a voting record that is destructive to the people of our state,” Akin said.
Akin also claimed that McCaskill was behaving more aggressively because she’s worried about losing the race.
Three of Missouri’s top Republicans also announced that they will renew their support for Akin’s Senate bid, even after urging him to step down last month.
Former Senators Kit Bond and Jim Talent endorsed Akin today. Earlier this week, current Missouri Senator Roy Blunt, Mitt Romney's liaison to Congress, announced that he'd back Akin, too.
Follow Adam Allington on Twitter: @aallington
