© 2024 St. Louis Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

‘Akin’s Name Was All Over The World’ – 2012 Politics Reviewed

U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-St. Louis) talks with reporters after announcing he will challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill for her seat in 2012, in Creve Coeur, Mo. on May 17.
(UPI/Bill Greenblatt)
/
UPI
U.S. Rep. Todd Akin (R-St. Louis) talks with reporters after announcing he will challenge Sen. Claire McCaskill for her seat in 2012, in Creve Coeur, Mo. on May 17.

According to a survey of Associated Press newspaper editors and broadcast news directors in Missouri, the top news story in the state was Republican Representative Todd Akin’s controversial and unscientific remarks about “legitimate rape.”

Akin made the comments on KTVI-TV’s “Jaco Report,” in which he said, “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing [pregnancy] down.”  Journalist Charles Jaco later said he was in error for not following up on the comment.

Akin later said the comment was a gaffe, though St. Louis Public Radio and Beyond November political reporter Chris McDaniel noted “a lot of people have been characterizing it as a gaffe.  It’s not. It’s something that a lot of fundamental conservatives believe.”

McDaniel joined host Don Marsh for our annual review of the year in politics.  Marsh was also joined by Jo Mannies of the St. Louis Beacon, University of Missouri-St. Louis political science professor Dave Robertson, and Amanda Vinicky of WUIS/Illinois Public Radio.

“It’s almost impossible to overestimate the international impact of this story.  It was on news all over the world and made Missouri’s senate race a focus of international attention, almost equal to the Presidential race.  Akin’s name was all over the world,” said Robertson.

Our guests also addressed the major political issues in Illinois, the upcoming race for Missouri’s 8th Congressional, and the mayoral election in St. Louis.

Stay Connected
Alex is the executive producer of "St. Louis on the Air" at St. Louis Public Radio.
Mary Edwards is a producer for St. Louis Public Radio's broadcast program, "St. Louis Symphony."
Don Marsh served as host of St. Louis Public Radio’s “St. Louis on the Air" from 2005 to 2019, bringing discussions of significant topics to listeners' ears at noon Monday through Friday. Don has been an active journalist for 58 years in print, radio and television. He has won 12 Regional Emmy Awards for writing, reporting, and producing. He is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, was inducted into the St. Louis Media Hall of Fame in 2013, and named “Media Person of the Year” by the St. Louis Press Club in 2015. He has published three books: his most recent, “Coming of Age, Liver Spots and All: A Humorous Look at the Wonders of Getting Old,” “Flash Frames: Journey of a Journeyman Journalist” and “How to be Rude (Politely).” He holds an honorary Doctor of Arts and Letters degree from the University of Missouri-St. Louis.