(Newser) – Democrats rushed today to milk maximum value out of Todd Akin's assertion that some mysterious biological process protected victims of "legitimate rape" from getting pregnant. DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz issued a statement trying to tie Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to Akin. "They've been trying to distance themselves from it," she wrote, but Ryan and Akin have partnered on "a whole host of issues that restrict women's ability to make their own health care decisions."

But Romney today unequivocally condemned the comments. "Congressman Akin's comments on rape are insulting, inexcusable, and, frankly, wrong," Romney told the National Review. "Like millions of other Americans, we found them to be offensive." Other Missouri Republicans are also scrambling to distance themselves from Akin, Politico reports. "For God's sake. DEFCON 5. Panic for the rest of the ticket," one state GOP operative said. "Major intervention needed.” (Read more Mitt Romney stories.)

