Rep. Todd Akin, R-Mo., launched a new portion of his campaign website Tuesday entitled "Missouri Women Stand with Todd Akin ." Included in the new offering is a nearly eight-minute video that has testimony from several women as to why they support the conservative Senate candidate. The launch featured two prominent snafus.
* The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports the first photo of the website showed Akin standing next to two young women and the candidate's wife. The news media outlet took a screenshot of the launch . On the page, a glaring typo appeared. The introduction said, "I'm a women [sic] and I support Todd."
* Further, one of the young women wasn't even an Akin supporter. Corinne Matti stood in between the candidate and his wife for the photo. She has been working for the Missouri Democratic Party for a year as a tracker. Matti is someone who follows campaigns of Democratic opponents, something the young woman claims she does openly.
* Ryan Hite, spokesman for the Akin campaign, told the Post-Dispatch the version that was seen by the media is "a draft version that was not approved for public release."
* The young woman in the photo is 27 years old. Matti told the Post-Dispatch that she was standing off to the side when Lulli Akin, Todd Akin's wife, insisted the young woman join in the photo. Matti is the one who has Mrs. Akin's arm around her shoulders.
* The website went live later in the day Tuesday. The video featured interviews with several women of different ethnic backgrounds. The idea is that normal women support Akin in his Senate bid for reasons other than abortion. A few women claim to have medical backgrounds. One says she is a small business owner. Another woman was adopted from Russia. Still another is a student at a Christian college.
* One poignant part of the video is narrated by a 33-year-old single mom who had an abortion. The woman said it "breaks my heart" to think that choice is an option for women. Another of the women, whose son wants to join the Army, admits there are several issues facing women in this election including pornography and "a lot of things that take away from a woman's dignity."
* Several of the women in the video say they met Akin in person. They note several qualities that help convince women to vote for the Republican. Among them are Akin's "honesty" and "integrity." Another woman cited his defense of the "quality of life" for women. Another said he is "not afraid to do the right thing" and Akin "fights for what he believes in."
* In all, seven Missouri women speak on his behalf in the video. Most of the featured interviewees appeared in a group photo of several women who support Akin. The piece was posted Tuesday to Akin's YouTube account.
William Browning is a research librarian specializing in U.S. politics.
