President Versus Catholics: Political Theatre Starring Pope Obama

Without media malfeasance, the president's sparring match with Catholic Church leaders over health care coverage would have been exposed as nothing more than a crass effort by Obama to solidify his standing with women voters.

Instead, the media painted a picture of a truculent religious organization clinging to antiquated moral principles that are out of sync with its own members.  News coverage labeled church hierarchy misguided ideologues more interested in hoodwinking their flock than in women's health.

The partisan press coated the president with Teflon, depicting Obama as willing to compromise with a recalcitrant Catholic Church bent on denying contraception to women.  In the media version, the president claimed the higher moral ground by tempering his policy to placate an inflexible church.

The whole contrived muddle is nothing more than political theatre.

Let's start with the leading actor in this farcical comedy, President Obama.  He was forewarned by Vice President Biden and former Chief of Staff Bill Daley, both Catholics,  to exempt religious organizations from the health care provision that requires institutions to cover contraception, morning-after-pills and sterilization.

According to Washington insiders, Obama ignored their pleas and deferred to Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, the former Kansas governor and practicing Catholic with a long pro-abortion record.  Sebelius won over her boss by reminding him that women voters made the difference in his campaign.

In the 2008 presidential election, 56 percent of all women voted for President Obama versus 43 percent for his opponent, Sen. John McCain.  The margin was even wider among unmarried women, who went for Obama, 70-to-29 percent.  McCain carried men 49 to 48 percent.

Once Obama announced his decision, the mainstream media supplied the spin.  News reports characterized the hubbub as a dispute over a woman's right to contraception, glossing over any mention of abortion pills or sterilization.  That's because women overwhelming endorse the use of contraceptives.

There can be no doubt that Obama deliberately provoked the confrontation with the Catholic Church to score political points. Even his "retreat" from his initial ruling was political grandstanding designed to demonstrate his willingness to accommodate religious beliefs.

Obama's act of contrition is misleading because many Catholic institutions, including the San Antonio Diocese, are self-insured, meaning the church will have to pick up the tab for contraceptives, morning-after pills and sterilization for its employees.

In this theatrical production, the Catholic Church was relegated to the role of supporting actor. After disapproving of the Obama administration's policy, the church mollified its position when the president offered a compromise.  Later the hierarchy reversed course and signaled its opposition.

Catholic leaders have no one to blame but themselves for the controversy.  Many backed Obama's election, despite his well-documented endorsement of abortion.  The Catholic Health Association and Catholic Charities both enthusiastically supported Obama's health care overhaul.

Now the weak-kneed Catholic bishops want their objections to be taken seriously. Their protests ring hollow when they refuse to back efforts to overturn the Patient Protection and Affordable Health Care Act. They have forfeited their leadership role by allowing the president to usurp their moral authority.

Religious freedom is not the only casualty in this one-act play starring Barrack Obama.  The president has prescribed to an entire industry (insurance companies) how to run its business.  There is no constitutional basis for his action.  That should alarm every businessperson and every American.

The last word on this staged hoax belongs to self-appointed civil rights activist and Obama supporter, Al Sharpton.  He explained that the president had to "dictate" to the Catholic Church to violate its own religious tenets in order to preserve separation of church and state.

As  church "dictator," perhaps the president will make it official and crown himself Pope Obama.