On Jan. 20 \u201d\u201d after a protracted internal debate over the policy\u2019s implications and lobbying from allies in the reproductive-rights community \u201d\u201d Obama approved the mandate, to the horror of the conservative Dolan and even to more liberal Catholic allies such as Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne.<\/p>\n
From the standpoint of the 2012 campaign, the debate over birth control, the stuff of the 1960s, has opened a dangerous electoral schism for Democrats, pitting Obama\u2019s base of female supporters against the church and a GOP presidential field all too eager to seize on a perceived assault on religious liberty.<\/p>\n
But it has also exposed surprisingly acute ideological, religious and gender divisions within a White House that prides itself on pulling together as a cohesive unit after a major decision, however sloppy the deliberation. And the fissures may have contributed to the slow, seemingly disorganized response to the escalating attacks, amplifying the damage from a fight that would have been politically perilous in any case.<\/p>\n