Barack Obama has had a busy couple of weeks as a preacher man.  He started off by assuring us that he was channeling Jesus Christ by demanding that we render more unto Caesar.  Now the question has become … who would Jesus abort? As Kathryn Jean Lopez reports, though, it’s not exactly a new question.  Back in October, Abortion Jesus bragged about forcing insurers to give contraception at no cost to those who wanted it:

THE PRESIDENT: … Insurance companies can’t drop your coverage for no good reason.  They won’t be able to deny your coverage because of preexisting conditions.  Think about what that means for families all across America.  Think about what it means for women.

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Birth control –

THE PRESIDENT:  Absolutely.  You’re stealing my line.  (Applause.)  Breast cancer, cervical cancer are no longer preexisting conditions.  No longer can insurance companies discriminate against women just because you guys are the ones who have to give birth.  (Laughter.)

AUDIENCE MEMBER:  Darn right!

THE PRESIDENT:  Darn tooting.  (Laughter.)  They have to cover things like mammograms and contraception as preventive care, no more out-of-pocket costs.

Put aside the questions over religious exemptions for a moment, and marvel at the oddity of this proposition.  When Obama insists that contraception will be no-cost, he means no out of pocket expense for the person who plans to use it.  Everyone else in the insurance pool has to pay for it, of course, in what is the antithesis of risk-pool management.  Contraception gets used to cover high-risk personal behavior, the kind of activity for which insurers usually demand more financial contribution from risk-takers, not less.  Why should people not engaging in sexual behavior to avoid accidental procreation entirely subsidize those who do want to engage in sexual behavior without wanting a natural outcome of intercourse?  Insurers demand co-pays for all other prescriptions and procedures involving non-elective conditions, so why should voluntary sexual activity indemnify those involve from contributing to their own risk?

Obama doubled down on this by insisting that religious organizations had to comply with this mandate.  He did this in spite of warnings from his own Vice President, Joe Biden, and his chief of staff Bill Daley, both Catholics who knew how this edict would generate outrage.  Now the man he picked as the chair of the DNC after his election, Tim Kaine, has publicly criticized Obama’s decision and talked about the “grave concerns” over religious freedoms raised by his actions, and even Chris “Tingles” Matthews calls it “frightening”:

This is what happens when a President gets promiscuous with his power. Unfortunately for Obama, there will be no magic pill to get him out of trouble on this issue. He’d be better off aborting the mandate altogether — but in the end, one way or the other, Obama will be the one who ends up paying for his misconceptions.

Got an Obamateurism of the Day? If you see a foul-up by Barack Obama, e-mail it to me at [email protected] with the quote and the link to the Obamateurism. I’ll post the best Obamateurisms on a daily basis, depending on how many I receive. Include a link to your blog, and I’ll give some link love as well. And unlike Slate, I promise to end the feature when Barack Obama leaves office.

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