( CNN ) -- Politicians make gaffes almost daily . Some they can overcome . Some are fodder for late-night comedians . Some are deadly to their campaigns . Republican congressman Todd Akin 's recent gaffe was so toxic , he may not only have killed his campaign , he may be the political equivalent of a zombie who also infects the Romney/Ryan ticket with his deadly virus . The American public is smarter than most political campaigns give us credit for . We may not be geniuses -- me included -- but we intuitively grasp when a politician has merely slipped up or when he or she has revealed something much more significant . The first type of political gaffes are just that : mistakes . For example , when then-presidential candidate Barack Obama said he had campaigned in `` 57 states . '' Or when Rep. Michele Bachmann suggested that the American Revolution had started in New Hampshire . These kinds of comments are generally overcome . The only time they 're potentially fatal is if they occur with such frequency that they begin to define the politician . Note to Joe Biden : You are really getting close to achieving that feat . Then there are the gaffes that are not gaffes at all . These reveal the candidate 's views on an issue or a character flaw that we had not previously seen . Rep. Todd Akin 's notorious remark Sunday clearly falls into the second category . Akin assessing candidacy with conservatives in Florida . His statement that a woman being raped could magically shut off her reproductive system and avoid becoming pregnant was so outrageous that even Mitt Romney quickly denounced him . ( Surprising , because Romney failed to condemn Rush Limbaugh 's despicable comments regarding Sandra Fluke , the law student whom Limbaugh called a `` slut '' on his radio show after she appeared before Congress to discuss contraception . ) Akin 's statement also brought national attention to his radical position that a woman who becomes pregnant from rape should be required to carry the baby to term . Is this one statement enough to destroy Akin 's Senate campaign ? A quick review of the history of political missteps of this type tells us that Akin is probably `` dead candidate walking . '' For example , in 1990 , Texas Republican gubernatorial candidate Clayton Williams was leading his Democratic opponent , Ann Richards , by 11 points with less than three months to go before Election Day . Williams then uttered a campaign-changing wisecrack comparing bad weather and rape : `` If it 's inevitable , just relax and enjoy it . '' Thankfully , Williams lost by 2 points . Candidates have even been undone by a single word , as in the case of Mitt Romney 's father , George Romney , who had been seeking the 1968 Republican nomination for president . Romney had supported the Vietnam War but then came out against it when running for president , as it had become unpopular . ( This is apparently a Romney family trait . ) Romney , trying to explain his new anti-war position , commented that in 1965 , he had visited Southeast Asia and met with U.S. generals who `` brainwashed '' him into supporting the war . Romney 's candidacy could never overcome this remark . And there was Republican Sen. George Allen 's public use of the racially derogatory term `` macaca '' to describe a staff member of his opponent 's campaign who was of Indian heritage . Allen had been leading in the polls at the time but went on to lose that 2006 election . Conservative Christians rally around Akin in face of GOP criticism . Some candidates have even been undone by simply showing too much emotion , causing voters to question the candidate 's stability . In 1972 , Sen. Edmund Muskie was a leading candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination . But his candidacy came apart when Muskie reportedly had `` tears streaming down his face '' as he emotionally defended attacks on his wife and himself by the publisher of a New Hampshire newspaper . Consequently , many were concerned that Muskie did n't posses the composure needed to serve as president . In the same vein , Howard Dean 's 2004 presidential ambitions were derided when he released a flu-ridden ( and blood-curdling ) scream during a speech shortly after losing Iowa 's Democratic caucus . But there 's one big difference between Akin 's gaffe and the other politically deadly ones above . Those hurt only the candidates who committed them . Akin 's comments may even hurt the Romney campaign and other Republicans . Indeed , the Republican National Committee chairman , Reince Priebus , instructed Akin to not attend next week 's Republican National Convention . However , the problem for Romney and others in the GOP is that while Akin may not be at the convention , his radical view that abortion should be banned in the U.S. with no exceptions for rape will be . This position is part of the Republican Party 's national platform , adopted a few days ago and supported by Romney 's running mate , Rep. Paul Ryan . As the postscript for this campaign is written after Election Day , we may find that Akin 's comments mark the first time that a political gaffe not only doomed the candidate who made it , it also dragged down his party 's presidential ticket . The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Dean Obeidallah .
You can overcome some issues , but others are deadly , says Dean Obeidallah . Some gaffes are just factual statements . Others are much more revealing , he says . But Akin 's rape comments may spell the end of his senatorial chances , he says . Obeidallah : Will Obama 's comments also bring down the Romney / McCain ticket ?