Analysis: Ryan Visits West Chester Amid Firestorm Over Mo. Senate Candidate's Comments

By Larry Kane

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) - Congressman Paul Ryan comes to Pennsylvania. And an old issue comes back.

Busy campaign travels today, including GOP number two Paul Ryan, headed to the American Helicopter Museum in West Chester after a stop in Allegheny County.

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READ: Political Focus Shifts To Philadelphia Before Ryan Visit

And an old controversy is back in a big, new way. Ryan and Mitt Romney came out against Missouri Senate candidate Todd Akin for comments he made when voicing his opposition to abortion in cases of rape.

Akin said women rarely get pregnant as a result of rape. He told St. Louis television station KTVI, "If it's a legitimate rape, the female body has ways to try to shut that whole thing down."

READ: Pressure Builds On Akin To Leave Mo. Senate Race

The issue is making headlines and motivating the GOP team to declare that abortion is acceptable in cases of rape. Once again, you can see how easy an avoidable issue comes to the spotlight. This comes 10 days after Medicare became a key issue because of Ryan's prior visions to change the program.

On the Democratic side, the White House is low-keying the Missouri mistake. With the Republican National Convention starting Monday, this is the kind of issue that the GOP hoped to avoid, much as Joe Biden's much maligned charge that the Republican team would keep people in chains.