'I Would Be Thinking About What's In the Best Interest of the Party' — Sean Hannity Interview With Embattled Missouri Senate Candidate Todd Akin

At RCP, "Hannity Urges Akin to Consider Dropping Out In Interview With Him" (via Memeorandum).

And the Wall Street Journal weighs in, "Todd Akin's Sinking Ship":

Mr. Akin may not be a quitter, but the question now is whether he is a sure loser in November. He had won a three-way primary earlier this month and faced a tough but winnable race against vulnerable Democratic incumbent Claire McCaskill. The race will be that much tougher given that his remarks about rape are likely to repel the women voters he will need to prevail.

National Republicans, including GOP Senators Scott Brown of Massachusetts and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin, quickly suggested Mr. Akin should drop out. The Senate GOP campaign committee let it be known that if Mr. Akin stays in the race, it won't be advertising on his behalf, and conservative groups American Crossroads and Crossroads GPS are reported to have pulled their advertising for the candidate. Mitt Romney also made a point to criticize the remarks. If Mr. Akin withdraws before 5 p.m. today, another GOP candidate can still get on the ballot.

Mr. Akin and his most loyal supporters may consider this party reaction unfair given that it is only one comment and he has apologized. But Senate control could well be decided by a single seat, and on that hangs the future of ObamaCare and much more than one candidate's fate. As John Paul Jones might have put it, Mr. Akin has sunk his own ship.

Ouch.

Dana Loesch is still pulling for Akin.

WSJ's argument is that the dude hung himself. Perhaps. But again, it's a campaign, and things like this are rarely decided by one gaffe. The national GOP --- and I saw Reince Priebus on CNN a bit earlier --- thinks Akin should go. Clearly, what folks worry about is the distraction Akin will cause, and how his staying in the race would be gift to Democrats. There's a way the GOP to try to minimize the issue, and that's for the top of the ticket to say that the left's remorselessly demagoguing, and that attacks on Akin are just one more indicator that Obama can't talk about the real issues facing the country, the economy and lingering high unemployment.

That, alas, is a tall order (Romney pretty much blew Akin off, in any case), and folks rightly worry about the damage to the party's gains in November. At this point it's basically a countdown to see when Akin will quit.

The Hill has a comprehensive report, "Republicans pressure Akin to drop out of Missouri Senate race," and it notes:

The initial deadline for a candidate to withdraw from the race is Tuesday at 5 p.m., but the final deadline, with a court order, is Sept. 25 by 5 p.m. The state party committee would then have to choose a new nominee within 28 days or by 5 p.m. on Oct. 12, whichever comes sooner.

PREVIOUSLY: "Progressives Call for Rape of Missouri Rep. Todd Akin," and "Conservatives Push for Todd Akin to Quit Missouri Senate Race."