NBC Political Reporter weighs in on Todd Akin controversy

WASHINGTON, DC - As Todd Akin's controversial comments on " legitmate rape" continue to grab national attention, 41 Action News Anchor Mark Clegg spoke with NBC Political Reporter Kelly O'Donnell for her take on the situation.

They discussed the next steps for Congressman Akin and his opponent Sen. Claire McCaskill on Wednesday afternoon.

Mark Clegg:  “You’ve seen scandals and missteps come and go.  With Akin staying in the race, he’s got 11 weeks to finish this.  Is it enough time to get his campaign back on course?  And what does Claire McCaskill need to do to stay her course?”

Kelly O'Donnell:  "For Claire McCaskill, the obvious option for her right now is to try and use this as sort of a lifeline in her campaign to be able to talk about those issues, to have people look at her, perhaps anew, after the Akin events of the last few days.  For Todd Akin, he's got to really find out is there support? Are there enough people in the state who will accept his apology and move on?  Expectations are that is too great a hurdle, he will not have enough money and he will not have support to go on."

Mark Clegg:  “You mentioned issues - campaigns obviously want to stay on message.  For Romney, it's been the economy, jobs and healthcare.  What is this focus on abortion doing to the Romney campaign right now?”

Kelly O'Donnell:  “This has become a subject that the Romney campaign has not wanted to deal with.  Obviously, the social issues are part of the larger texture of the campaign.  What they really want to be talking about - jobs, the economy, Paul Ryan's budget expertise, things like that.  Not being put under a microscope of now looking through a sort of Todd Akin lens, what the positions of Romney and Ryan are with respect to these issues that are deeply held by many people that are in power.  And this isn't what they wanted to be talking about."

Watch the entire interview with Kelly O’Donnell in the video player above.