‘Mad Men’ are winning

BY JOAN VENNOCHI

New York Times News Service

The “Mad Men” era is great TV. But who — besides Catholic bishops, Republican presidential candidates and, maybe, Joe Biden — wants to go back to it in real life?

The Catholic Church and GOP turned back the clock when they attacked President Obama’s plan to require church-run hospitals and universities to offer employees health insurance that covers contraceptives. It was Ike and Mamie Eisenhower time, stretching forward into the era of an intern-bedding JFK, when entitled men kept women in their place and birth control out of their reach. Fearful of the political backlash, some presidential advisers, including the vice president, put out word that they argued against the policy.

On Friday, Obama retreated. The president announced a new plan that he said will enable women to get contraceptive coverage directly through insurance plans, without having to negotiate with religious institutions that oppose birth control. According to a White Hosue fact sheet, under the new regulations, religious organizations won’t have to provide contraceptive coverage or refer employees to organizations that provide it. Contraception coverage will be offered to women directly by their employers’ insurance firms and insurance firms will be required to provide contraception coverage free of charge.

Planned Parenthood president Cecile Richards backed the latest directive, with reservations. “We believe the compliance mechanism does not compromise a woman’s ability to access these critical birth control benefits,” she said. “However, we will be vigilant in holding the administration and the institutions accountable for a rigorous, fair, and consistent implementation of the policy …” Sister Carol Keehan, president of the Catholic Health Association and a key White House ally, said her organization was “very pleased” with the announcement.

Opponents framed the initial Obama policy as an assault on religious freedom. Would they feel the same way if Muslim clergy were demanding exemptions on religious grounds? Obama never took them on.

“Why aren’t we messaging this better?” asked Democratic Senator Barbara Mikulski, of Maryland, during a meeting with Obama campaign manager Jim Messina.

Perhaps the answer lies in Obama’s ambivalence and in whom he ultimately places his trust. In “Confidence Men,” author Ron Suskind documented the back story when bailouts and stimulus packages topped White House concerns. The president’s top female economic advisers — including Massachusetts Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren — were marginalized and ignored during those discussions. The men of the administration prevailed.

When women’s reproductive health became the issue, influential female advisers like Valerie Jarrett and Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius won the first round. Obama was also supposedly motivated by the belief that women should have access to free birth control even if they worked for church-run institutions.

But confronted by the angry men of the Catholic Church and the GOP presidential contest, his conviction wavered. It’s hard to imagine a vice president named Hillary Clinton urging him to dial back on contraceptives. Culture wars figure regularly in modern presidential campaigns. When the fight moves to birth control, it has a barefoot-and-pregnant, old-fashioned feel to it.

When Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum expresses skepticism about a decision by the Pentagon to open up more military roles for women, there’s reason to fear a time warp. Santorum said he worried that female “emotions” could create a “compromising situation” in combat. Later, Santorum said he was referring to the emotions of men. “I think men have the emotions when you see a woman in harm’s way,” he said. As for the bishops, they want all employers who object to contraception to be exempt from having to provide it to their employees. “If I quit this job and opened a Taco Bell, I’d be covered by the mandate,” complained Anthony Picarello, the general counsel for the bishops’ organization.

For now, The “Mad Men” are winning this war.