Deirdre Shesgreen

WASHINGTON – Former Missouri congressman and GOP pariah Todd Akin says his explosive new book isn't the opening salvo of an attempted political comeback. But in an interview Monday, Akin did not rule out a future run for public office.

"I'm not sure what the future brings," said Akin, who sparked a national uproar with his comments about rape and abortion during his 2012 Senate bid against Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo.

"I'm going to try to promote good ideas and fight bad ideas, but in what venue or format, I don't know," Akin said as he kicked off a media blitz to promote his book, "Firing Back: Taking on the Party Bosses and Media Elite to Protect Our Faith and Freedom."

Akin's political tell-all has reignited the firestorm he sparked in August 2012, when he said in a television interview that women who were victims of "legitimate rape" rarely got pregnant because "the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

During the campaign he conceded to being "medically wrong" and apologized for the remarks. But in the book, Akin writes that there's "considerable evidence that stress makes conception more difficult. And what could be more stressful than a rape?"

Akin also defends his use of the term "legitimate rape," suggesting in the book that some women might claim they have been raped as "an excuse to avoid an unwanted pregnancy."

The book — a 185-page attack on the "liberal media" and the Republicans who abandoned him after those controversial comments — has unleashed a fresh round of denunciations of Akin, from Democrats and Republicans alike.

"Todd Akin is an embarrassment to the Republican Party and the sole reason Claire McCaskill is still part of Harry Reid's majority," Brian Walsh, a GOP strategist, told Politico last week.

Asked why he wanted to revive the debate that killed his political career, Akin said he was just trying to "set the record straight" and explain what he meant by his 2012 remarks, which came in response to a question about why he did not support an exception for abortion in cases of rape.

"I wrote 'Firing Back' ... to try to tell the truth and tell our story," he said. "I've always tried to advance ideas that are good and true."

Akin said he has not been surprised by the response, including the stinging repudiation from his fellow Republicans. He said Republicans are afraid of "the liberal media" and a political establishment that he says tarred him as "this horrible villain."

Akin took specific aim in the book at Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., describing him as politically brutal and questioning his commitment to conservatism.

He writes that the "Roy Blunt machine" worked to dry up his fundraising, block critical endorsements and force him out of the race so the GOP could find someone else to challenge McCaskill. Among other things, Blunt helped orchestrate a joint public statement from four former Missouri Republican senators — Christopher "Kit" Bond, John Danforth, Jim Talent and John Ashcroft — calling on Akin to drop out.

Blunt is "good at politics" and generally tried "not to leave his fingerprints on his handiwork," Akin writes. But "he would leave a bloody war club" all over the campaign to get him out of the Missouri Senate race.

After the book was released last week, Blunt's spokeswoman said that while the senator "appreciates" Akin's service, he will not be reading the book.

On Monday, Akin said he "didn't in any sense mean to attack Blunt. I meant to say 'This is what happened.' If the facts are interpreted that way, that's the way it is."

Asked if he might challenge Blunt when the senator is up for re-election in 2016, Akin said "I really don't know" what's next.

Akin, who recently turned 67, is still clawing his way out of debt after his Senate campaign ended in defeat and $250,000 in the red.

The most recent Federal Election Commission filings show his campaign owed about $100,000 at the end of June. He reported raising about $155,000 over the past 18 months.

Akin wouldn't say how much he earned for the book — except that it was "not very much."

Contact Deirdre Shesgreen at dshesgreen@gannett.com or @dshesgreen on Twitter