Obama mocked Akin’s words during a fundraiser in New York City, telling supporters Wednesday night that Akin, though a member of the House Committee on Science, Space and Technology, “somehow missed science class.”.

“The interesting thing here is that this is an individual who sits on the House Committee on Science and Technology but somehow missed science class,” Mr Obama said at a fundraiser in New York City Wednesday night.

“But it’s representative of a desire to go backwards instead of forwards. And fights that we thought were settled twenty, thirty years ago.”.

Obama added: “It’s representative of the desire to go backwards instead of forwards and fight fights that we thought were settled 20 or 30 years ago.”.

Instead, he’s heading to Tampa with the national debate focused on rape and abortion and with the divisions within his party and with running mate Paul Ryan on full display.

The discussion lingered while President Barack Obama and Romney tangled from afar over issues like education and the deficit.

That charge was led by Mitt Romney,” Priebus said.

Party leaders and prominent conservatives turned against Akin after the Senate hopeful said in an interview with St. Louis area station KTVI Sunday that he believed pregnancy from “legitimate rape” was rare because “the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

The questions over abortion overshadowed events by Romney and Ryan in the battleground states of Iowa, North Carolina and Virginia – three states which Obama carried in 2008 – ahead of next week’s Republican convention in Tampa, Fla.

Obama rallied supporters in Nevada, the state with the nation’s highest unemployment rate of 12 percent, before heading to New York for a basketball themed fundraiser.

Since selecting Ryan as his running mate, Romney has faced questions about how his policy positions differ from those espoused by Ryan, the architect of a controversial budget blueprint that would dramatically alter Medicare.

We can expect a Romney administration to reverse many of the anti life, pro abortion policies that have been implemented by President Obama.

Akin chides “party bosses” for trying to push him outSources: Akin may not really be in race for goodWatch: Why is GOP worried about Akin.

Ryan, in an interview with a Pennsylvania TV station, emphasized Romney’s role at the top of the ticket, saying he was proud of his record on the social issue.

It’s something we’re proud of,” Ryan said. “But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket, and Mitt Romney will be president, and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.

But Mitt Romney is the top of the ticket and Mitt Romney will be president and he will set the policy of the Romney administration.

The measures sought to prohibit federal funds from being used for abortion, except under certain conditions, with both bills as introduced using the term “forcible rape” as an exception to the funding ban.

He may hope that American women never learn about this record, but they deserve an answer to why he wanted to redefine rape and remove protections for rape victims.

Akin and 225 other members of the House, including 11 Democrats, also cosponsored the bill.

Democrats have tried to tactfully steer the debate over abortion to appeal to female voters, including those living in hotly contested suburbs in battleground states such as Colorado, Florida, Ohio and Virginia.

Obama did not address Akin’s comments while campaigning in Nevada, but his campaign honed in on the legislation related to federal funding for abortions.

Obama campaign spokeswoman Lis Smith said Ryan had “worked with Todd Akin to try to narrow the definition of rape and outlaw abortion even for rape victims.”.

A new AP GfK poll found that Obama maintained a slight lead among women voters, with 50 percent of women backing the president and 44 percent supporting Romney.

Some 47 percent of registered voters say they plan to vote for Obama, while 46 percent favor Romney.

Men were more closely divided in the latest AP GfK poll, with 49 percent for Romney and 44 percent for Obama.

All this as a new Associated Press GfK poll showed a neck and neck race between Romney and President Barack Obama just over two months before the election.

In the suburbs, the candidates were closely divided, with 47 percent supporting Romney and 44 percent for Obama.

Claire McCaskill in a race that could determine control of the Senate, was asked in an interview that aired Sunday if abortion should be legal in cases of rape.

Akin said: “If it’s a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.”.

Akin has refused to heed calls to step down and now would need a court order by Sept.

Ryan called the Missouri congressman and unsuccessfully urged him to exit the race, but he said he had no other plans to speak to him about it.

His fellow Missourians urged him to step aside, and we think he should accept their counsel and exit the Senate race.

Victor Arrington is a business journalist based in Orange, California. Victor has a passion for financial markets and breaking news stories and loves writing about business news, stock market, and economic opinions that matters most to its audience. Victor spends a lot of time discovering and researching latest financial markets and industry news stories in order to make sure the latest and greatest stories are brought to you first on BigBoardNews.com.