Todd Akin's 'Legitimate Rape' Apology Ad Named Worst Political Ad By Washington Post

Washington Post political writers are wrapping a bow on the just completed 2012 election cycle by taking a look at the best and worst from the campaign's advertising, and they are pulling no punches in their assessment of what was the worst.

Direct from the Mouth

According to Aaron Blake, Chris Cillizza and Sean Sullivan, who together compile the paper's column known as "The Fix", the first ad put out by Todd Akin's U.S. Senate campaign after the firestorm over his comments about "legitimate rape" in an August FOX2 interview claimed the top spot.

"The ad seems to try and dismiss Akin’s words as a slip of the tongue rather than a fringe theory about women, and the moment, in our minds, deserved significantly more contrition. We’re not sure anything would have saved Akin, but his apology ad didn’t come close and it really summed up his problems as a candidate," they wrote.

The writers made the pick after soliciting social media feedback, hearing from political operatives and going over it themselves.

They also pointed out that Akin already had what they called the worst ad of the election cycle prior to the one they selected as the overall top choice.