I assume it’s going on right now – if anyone bothers to cover it, that is. In case you forgot, today is the deadline for Todd Akin to withdraw from the Missouri Senate race. When I heard he had scheduled a 3:00 PM news conference, I thought maybe, just maybe, some common sense had penetrated his thick skull and he was going to put the fate of the country ahead of his personal ambitions.  Predictably, there’s no such luck:

Today’s final deadline for embattled Missouri Republican Senate nominee Todd Akin to withdraw from the race is just hours away, and he has scheduled a news conference at 3:00 pm ET.

Is he potentially dropping out of the contest?

Not a chance, his campaign says.

“Staying in the race, as we’ve said,” Ryan Hite, the campaign’s communications director, said in a text message to NBC News.

“Just kicking off bus tour today and talking about Missouri Commonsense values as the bus tour title suggests,” Hite continued. “Nothin[g] earth shattering.”

According to Akin’s campaign website, the Missouri Common Sense Bus Tour launches today and runs through Friday.

Rumor is the Huckster  will be joining Akin on his exciting bus ride. I’m sure that’ll be a game changer, heh. Seriously, the highly unpopular Claire McCaskill is already comfortably ahead of the even more unpopular (and unelectable) Todd Akin. Look for her lead to grow down the stretch when she begins carpet bombing Akin with the millions of dollars in campaign cash she’s been stockpiling. We better get used to Obamacare, because Akin’s selfish decision virtually guarantees it’s here to stay.  Thanks, Todd.