When Akin made the gaffe, it was not so egregious as to require withdrawing from the race absence the piling on by the Republican establishment. At least that is the position taken by Akin's defenders. They have a point.
The counterpoint, of course, is that it was Akin who put the Republican Party in an untenable position by his own negligence (which is to be distinguished from malevolence) and therefore it is quite proper to demand that he withdraw. The Republican Party is not obligated to assume the risks of his negligence.
My point is that the reaction of the Republican establishment was certainly not thought through, it was reactive rather than considered. The issue of the egregiousness of the gaffe is not so clear until one is buffeted by the establishment's reaction. The gaffe was not weighed against the intimidation factor which will repeat time and time again.
How many gaffes will Romney make between now and the election? Will we defend him? Of course!
I am asking not for judgments about Todd Akin's moral character in refusing to exceed to the establishment demands, but for a workable moral principle upon which the Republican Party should rely on occasions like this.
I see no groping towards such an ideal and this is not merely a theoretical consideration. We are bombarded by the media in every election cycle on trumped up gaffes and the Republican Party should have its position formulated in advance.
