Rep. Todd Akin's statement that a woman's body is capable of preventing pregnancy in cases of "legitimate rape" was so outrageous that even Mitt Romney quickly denounced him, says Dean Obeidallah. But the Akin gaffe may end up infecting Romney's campaign.
Editor's note: Dean Obeidallah, a former attorney, is a political comedian and frequent commentator on various TV networks including CNN. He is the editor of the politics blog The Dean's Report and co-director of the upcoming documentary, "The Muslims Are Coming!" Follow him on Twitter: @deanofcomedy
(CNN) -- Politicians make gaffes almost daily. Some they can overcome. Some are fodder for late-night comedians. Some are deadly to their campaigns. Republican congressman Todd Akin's recent gaffe was so toxic, he may not only have killed his campaign, he may be the political equivalent of a zombie who also infects the Romney/Ryan ticket with his deadly virus.
The American public is smarter than most political campaigns give us credit for. We may not be geniuses -- me included -- but we intuitively grasp when a politician has merely slipped up or when he or she has revealed something much more significant.
The first type of political gaffes are just that: mistakes. For example, when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama said he had campaigned in "57 states." Or when Rep. Michele Bachmann suggested that the American Revolution had started in New Hampshire.
These kinds of comments are generally overcome. The only time they're potentially fatal is if they occur with such frequency that they begin to define the politician. Note to Joe Biden: You are really getting close to achieving that feat.
Then there are the gaffes that are not gaffes at all. These reveal the candidate's views on an issue or a character flaw that we had not previously seen.
Rep. Todd Akin's notorious remark Sunday clearly falls into the second category.
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His statement that a woman being raped could magically shut off her reproductive system and avoid becoming pregnant was so outrageous that even Mitt Romney quickly denounced him. (Surprising, because Romney failed to condemn Rush Limbaugh's despicable comments regarding Sandra Fluke, the law student whom Limbaugh called a "slut" on his radio show after she appeared before Congress to discuss contraception.) Akin's statement also brought national attention to his radical position that a woman who becomes pregnant from rape should be required to carry the baby to term.
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Is this one statement enough to destroy Akin's Senate campaign? A quick review of the history of political missteps of this type tells us that Akin is probably "dead candidate walking."
For example, in 1990, Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams was leading his Democratic opponent, Ann Richards, by 11 points with less than three months to go before Election Day. Williams then uttered a campaign-changing wisecrack comparing bad weather and rape: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.'' Thankfully, Williams lost by 2 points.
Candidates have even been undone by a single word, as in the case of Mitt Romney's father, George Romney, who had been seeking the 1968 Republican nomination for president. Romney had supported the Vietnam War but then came out against it when running for president, as it had become unpopular. (This is apparently a Romney family trait.)
Romney, trying to explain his new anti-war position, commented that in 1965, he had visited Southeast Asia and met with U.S. generals who "brainwashed" him into supporting the war. Romney's candidacy could never overcome this remark.
And there was Republican Sen. George Allen's public use of the racially derogatory term "macaca" to describe a staff member of his opponent's campaign who was of Indian heritage. Allen had been leading in the polls at the time but went on to lose that 2006 election.
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Some candidates have even been undone by simply showing too much emotion, causing voters to question the candidate's stability.
In 1972, Sen. Edmund Muskie was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. But his candidacy came apart when Muskie reportedly had "tears streaming down his face" as he emotionally defended attacks on his wife and himself by the publisher of a New Hampshire newspaper. Consequently, many were concerned that Muskie didn't posses the composure needed to serve as president.
In the same vein, Howard Dean's 2004 presidential ambitions were derided when he released a flu-ridden (and blood-curdling) scream during a speech shortly after losing Iowa's Democratic caucus.
But there's one big difference between Akin's gaffe and the other politically deadly ones above. Those hurt only the candidates who committed them. Akin's comments may even hurt the Romney campaign and other Republicans.
Indeed, the Republican National Committee chairman, Reince Priebus, instructed Akin to not attend next week's Republican National Convention. However, the problem for Romney and others in the GOP is that while Akin may not be at the convention, his radical view that abortion should be banned in the U.S. with no exceptions for rape will be. This position is part of the Republican Party's national platform, adopted a few days ago and supported by Romney's running mate, Rep. Paul Ryan.
As the postscript for this campaign is written after Election Day, we may find that Akin's comments mark the first time that a political gaffe not only doomed the candidate who made it, it also dragged down his party's presidential ticket.
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The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah.
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As he tried to fire up the crowd after his third-place finish in the Iowa caucuses in 2004, a hoarse Howard Dean let out a yell that played very loud on TV. His "I Have a Scream" speech was seen by some as unpresidential and was widely mocked.
In 1990, Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams was leading his Democratic opponent, Ann Richards, by 11 points less than three months before Election Day. Then he uttered a wisecrack comparing bad weather and rape: "If it's inevitable, just relax and enjoy it.'' He lost by 2 percentage points.
George Romney (Mitt's father) opposed the Vietnam War during his presidential run, although he had previously supported it. In explaining his change of heart, he said that in 1965, he visited Southeast Asia and met with U.S. generals who "brainwashed" him into supporting the war. His candidacy could not recover.
In 1972, Sen. Edmund Muskie was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination. But his candidacy came apart when the press reported that he had "tears streaming down his face" as he defended against attacks on his wife and himself by the publisher of a New Hampshire newspaper. Muskie said they were snowflakes, but his calm image was damaged.
Republican Sen. George Allen publicly used the racially derogatory term "macaca" to describe a staff member of his opponent's campaign who was of Indian heritage. Allen had been leading in the polls at the time but went on to lose that 2006 election.
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