<p>US President Barack Obama chose to go full throttle against the Republicans over controversial rape remarks by a GOP candidate, contending that attempts to redefine rape make little sense and a predominantly male political class should not be making decisions for women.<br /></p>.<p>Appealing to his women constituency, Obama said healthcare decisions for women was not something that politicians need get involved in.<br /><br />"These attempts to re-define rape in some way make no sense to me. And I don't think they make sense to the vast majority of women across the country," Obama said in an interview to NBC news.</p>.<p>"But more broadly, I think what these episodes point to is the fact that you don't want politicians, the majority of them male, making a series of decisions about women's health care issues," he said.</p>.<p>The Obama campaign has seized on remarks by Indiana senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said that pregnancy after rape was God's will.</p>.<p>Abortion rights for women has become a major subject of contention in the election, with the Democrats trying to corner Mitt Romney over the issue.</p>.<p>"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas," Obama said.<br />"Let me make a very simple proposition: Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so these various distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me -- don't make any sense to me," he said.</p>.<p>Obama said he is very proud of his track record when it comes to having confidence that women can make their own decisions.<br /><br />"I think that it is important for women to have confidence that their president knows this is a set of decisions for them to make in consultations with their families, their clergy.<br />"It is not something that politicians need get involved in," he said.<br /><br />The Obama campaign also released a new television ad highlighting Romney comments on the abortion issue and his plan to try and cut funding for planned parenthood.</p>.<p>Mourdock apologised for his comments after as a series of Republicans distanced themselves from his views.<br /><br />Responding to questions regarding his campaign spending a billion dollars this election season and the spending also by the Romney campaign and political action committees (PACs), Obama said there should be some restrictions on the spending.</p>.<p>"I think the amount of money that is being spent in my campaign and Mr Romney's campaign and the super PACs that are out there is ridiculous," Obama said.</p>.<p>"As you will recall, when the Citizens United decision came out, I took a fairly unusual step of saying this was bad for our democracy in a State of the Union speech. I continue to believe that.</p>.<p>There is no reason why I believe we can interpret the Constitution in a way that allows us for some common sense, you know, restrictions on the amount of money spent and the manner in which it is spent," he said.</p>.<p>"Because, you know, for us to have folks writing USD 10 million checks, undisclosed, having huge sway in this election -- and just the sheer amount of waste that could be used more profitably in other areas, doesn't make much sense. So this is an issue that, in a second term, I will raise," Obama said.</p>.<p>Obama said having earned the endorsement of Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, means a lot to him.<br /><br />"General Powell is somebody who, during the course of these four years, has come in occasionally, given me advice," he said.<br /><br />"He is somebody who I think people recognise as, you know, having just a steady breadth of knowledge, both foreign and domestic.<br /><br />And he has been terrific on all counts over the last four years. So for him to provide a full endorsement like that means a lot," Obama said. </p>
<p>US President Barack Obama chose to go full throttle against the Republicans over controversial rape remarks by a GOP candidate, contending that attempts to redefine rape make little sense and a predominantly male political class should not be making decisions for women.<br /></p>.<p>Appealing to his women constituency, Obama said healthcare decisions for women was not something that politicians need get involved in.<br /><br />"These attempts to re-define rape in some way make no sense to me. And I don't think they make sense to the vast majority of women across the country," Obama said in an interview to NBC news.</p>.<p>"But more broadly, I think what these episodes point to is the fact that you don't want politicians, the majority of them male, making a series of decisions about women's health care issues," he said.</p>.<p>The Obama campaign has seized on remarks by Indiana senate candidate Richard Mourdock, who said that pregnancy after rape was God's will.</p>.<p>Abortion rights for women has become a major subject of contention in the election, with the Democrats trying to corner Mitt Romney over the issue.</p>.<p>"I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas," Obama said.<br />"Let me make a very simple proposition: Rape is rape. It is a crime. And so these various distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me -- don't make any sense to me," he said.</p>.<p>Obama said he is very proud of his track record when it comes to having confidence that women can make their own decisions.<br /><br />"I think that it is important for women to have confidence that their president knows this is a set of decisions for them to make in consultations with their families, their clergy.<br />"It is not something that politicians need get involved in," he said.<br /><br />The Obama campaign also released a new television ad highlighting Romney comments on the abortion issue and his plan to try and cut funding for planned parenthood.</p>.<p>Mourdock apologised for his comments after as a series of Republicans distanced themselves from his views.<br /><br />Responding to questions regarding his campaign spending a billion dollars this election season and the spending also by the Romney campaign and political action committees (PACs), Obama said there should be some restrictions on the spending.</p>.<p>"I think the amount of money that is being spent in my campaign and Mr Romney's campaign and the super PACs that are out there is ridiculous," Obama said.</p>.<p>"As you will recall, when the Citizens United decision came out, I took a fairly unusual step of saying this was bad for our democracy in a State of the Union speech. I continue to believe that.</p>.<p>There is no reason why I believe we can interpret the Constitution in a way that allows us for some common sense, you know, restrictions on the amount of money spent and the manner in which it is spent," he said.</p>.<p>"Because, you know, for us to have folks writing USD 10 million checks, undisclosed, having huge sway in this election -- and just the sheer amount of waste that could be used more profitably in other areas, doesn't make much sense. So this is an issue that, in a second term, I will raise," Obama said.</p>.<p>Obama said having earned the endorsement of Colin Powell, the former Secretary of State, means a lot to him.<br /><br />"General Powell is somebody who, during the course of these four years, has come in occasionally, given me advice," he said.<br /><br />"He is somebody who I think people recognise as, you know, having just a steady breadth of knowledge, both foreign and domestic.<br /><br />And he has been terrific on all counts over the last four years. So for him to provide a full endorsement like that means a lot," Obama said. </p>