text: WASHINGTON -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said Wednesday night he will no longer support Richard Mourdock, unless the Indiana Senate candidate apologizes for his recent comments on rape. 
   
   "I think it depends on what he does," McCain told CNN's Anderson Cooper, when asked if he still counts himself among Mourdock's supporters. "If he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and he asks the people to forgive him, then obviously I’d be the first. ... But, you know, in the years that I’ve been around, I’ve made a few, Anderson, and I’ve asked for people's understanding and forgiveness when I won't -- when I own up to it," he continued. "It’s when you don't own up to it when people will not believe you." 
   
   McCain's call for an apology comes as Mitt Romney faces mounting pressure from Democrats to withdraw his endorsement of Mourdock and have a TV ad he starred in for the Indiana state treasurer removed from the airwaves. 
   
   Mourdock ignited controversy Tuesday night for saying in the final Indiana Senate debate that pregnancies resulting from rape are "something God intended." 
   
   "The only exception I have to have an abortion is in the case of the life of the mother," said Mourdock. "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize life is that gift from God. I think that even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen." 
   
   Romney's campaign confirmed Wednesday that he continues to support Mourdock and has not asked that the ad be pulled. Romney campaign spokeswoman Andrea Saul did seek to distance the GOP nominee from the views Mourdock expressed. 
   
   "Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock’s comments do not reflect Gov. Romney’s views," Saul said in an emailed statement. "We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him." 
   
   Mourdock declined to apologize during a press conference on Wednesday, saying instead that he regretted his words had been misinterpreted. 
   
   UPDATE: Oct. 25 -- McCain spokesman Brian Rogers on Thursday clarified McCain's earlier comments that he would withdraw support for Mourdock if he did not apologize, saying that the Arizona senator still supports the Indiana Senate candidate. 
   
   "Senator McCain was traveling yesterday in Florida and did not have an opportunity to see Mr. Mourdock's full press conference before he taped his CNN interview," Rogers said, referring to the Wednesday conference where Mourdock said he regretted that he had been misinterpreted. "Senator McCain is glad that Mr. Mourdock apologized to the people of Indiana and clarified his previous statement. Senator McCain hopes the people of Indiana will elect Mr. Mourdock to the U.S. Senate." ||||| President Obama on Wednesday criticized Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's controversial comments on rape, saying that the Indiana Republican was wrong when he called pregnancy resulting from rape "something God intended to happen." 
   
   "I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas," Obama said during a taping of "The Tonight Show" in Burbank, Calif. "Let me make a very simple proposition. Rape is rape. It is a crime." 
   
   "These various distinctions about rape don't make too much sense to me, don't make any sense to me," he said. 
   
   (Also on POLITICO: Exclusive interview: Mourdock braces for fallout) 
   
   Obama also laid out a contrast between his position on women's issues and Mitt Romney's, saying that "Roe vs. Wade is probably hanging in the balance" depending on the outcome of the presidential race and the winner's eventual Supreme Court appointments. 
   
   Obama added that Mourdock's remarks are evidence of why government shouldn't make decisions on women's health. 
   
   "This is exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women's health care decisions. Women are capable of making these decisions in consultation with their partners, with their doctors," he said to loud applause. "And for politicians to want to intrude in this stuff, oftentimes without any information, is a huge problem. And this is obviously part of what's stake at this election." 
   
   Mourdock's comment, made Tuesday, has mobilized the Obama campaign and Democrats to call on Mitt Romney to distance himself from the Senate candidate. 
   
   (Also on POLITICO: GOP splits over Mourdock comment) 
   
   The Romney campaign distanced itself from Mourdock's statement on rape, but still supports the candidate and has not asked him to stop using an ad featuring Romney. "Gov. Romney disagrees with Richard Mourdock, and Mr. Mourdock's comments do not reflect Gov. Romney's views. We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him," press secretary Andrea Saul said. 
   
   But other prominent Republicans are still weighing their options on Mourdock. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said his support for the Indiana Republican “depends on what he does.” 
   
   “If he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and asks the people to forgive him, I would be the first" to support him, McCain said on CNN's “Anderson Cooper 360.” 
   
   Earlier Wednesday, the Obama campaign released a web video juxtaposing clips from Romney's pro-Mourdock ad with Mourdock's remarks on rape. The video ends with message, "Mitt Romney: extremely conservative to this day." 
   
   Read more about: Richard Mourdock
target: – President Obama slammed Senate candidate Richard Mourdock's rape comments on the Tonight Show last night. "I don't know how these guys come up with these ideas," Obama said. "Let me make a very simple proposition. Rape is rape. It is a crime." He noted "Roe vs. Wade is probably hanging in the balance" of the election, Politico reports. Mourdock's comments that pregnancies from rape are "something God intended" are "exactly why you don't want a bunch of politicians, mostly male, making decisions about women's health care decisions," Obama said. "Women are capable of making these decisions in consultation with their partners, with their doctors." Meanwhile, asked by Anderson Cooper whether he still supports Mourdock, John McCain said it "depends on what he does," the Huffington Post reports. "If he apologizes and says he misspoke and he was wrong and he asks the people to forgive him, then obviously I’d be the first" to support him. Mourdock has in fact issued an apology. Mitt Romney, for his part, still supports Mourdock, though his campaign says he "disagrees" with the Indiana Republican's comments: "We disagree on the policy regarding exceptions for rape and incest but still support him." The campaign says it hasn't called on Mourdock to withdraw ads featuring Romney.