Connecticut Commentary: Red Notes from a Blue State

Thanks to James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal , we now have an account of the conversations between Archbishop Cardinal Timothy Dolan of New York and President Barack Obama on the matter of the controversial contraception coverage mandate. “I was deeply honored that he would call me and discuss these things with me,” the newly elevated Cardinal told Mr. Taranto. “Mr. Obama knew that the mandate would pose difficulties for the Catholic Church, so he invited Archbishop Dolan to the Oval Office last November, shortly before the bishops' General Assembly in Baltimore. At the end of their 45-minute discussion, the archbishop summed up what he understood as the president's message: "’I said, ‘I've heard you say, first of all, that you have immense regard for the work of the Catholic Church in the United States in health care, education and charity. . . . I have heard you say that you are not going to let the administration do anything to impede that work and...