TAMPA, Fla. – Aaron Chandler, a 32-year-old marketing analyst from Kansas City, Mo., was sitting at a table of Ron Paul supporters here at a Missouri Republican delegation breakfast.

Clad in a pinstripe suit, punctuated by a blue striped tie and a “Goldwater in ’64” button on his right lapel, Chandler talked about what’s been on the minds of everyone in the Show Me State delegation lately: embattled Rep. Todd Akin (R), the party’s nominee for Senate there.

With GOP convention activities postponed for a day because of Hurricane Isaac, Missourians have had a lot of time to discuss Akin, as well as the politics and science of abortion. And over cornflakes and whole fruit this morning, these delegates revealed just how difficult the Akin situation has become both for the state party and the national establishment.

“I don’t think he really thought that through before he spoke,” Chandler said of Akin’s erroneous remark that women’s bodies have the ability to shut down pregnancy in cases of what he termed “legitimate rape.”

“I don’t think it reflects on him as a person,” Chandler said. “I think that he has had personal attacks because of it that he doesn’t necessarily deserve. I think ultimately he’s a good guy. He was just quoting a book that a doctor had written, and he did a bad job of paraphrasing that.”