Congressional candidate tweet links Obama, Hitler

COLUMBUS, Ohio - A tweet by a pediatrician running for Congress in Ohio has drawn parallels between President Barack Obama and Adolf Hitler and two Communist leaders. Her campaign said Tuesday that it was a reference to her stance against abortion but that she regrets putting the message on Twitter without fully explaining her meaning.

Republican Marisha Agana's tweet Sunday suggested "history has a way of repeating itself" and referenced Obama and Hitler along with Soviet leader Josef Stalin and Communist Chinese leader Mao Zedong.

It was a follow-up to an earlier tweet by Agana that said, "Beware of people who rose meteorically from nowhere like Obama."

The tweet was intended in the context of the abortion issue because the Warren-area candidate believes any national leader who supports abortion rights is supporting genocide, campaign manager Larry Nichols said.

"She had regrets about the fact she broke it through Twitter, and she didn't do the job that should have been done explaining her position," Nichols said. "It just wasn't the format to break that on."

He said the tweet brought up the discussion about abortion earlier than Agana's campaign had planned.

"I am 100 percent against abortion and I am excited that this issue has come to the forefront of my campaign," Agana wrote in a message on her Facebook page after hearing feedback about her tweet.

Agana is challenging Democratic Rep. Tim Ryan in northeast Ohio's District 13.

Ryan's campaign said Tuesday it had no comment on the matter.
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Franko can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/kantele10 .