The Obama administration stepped into it big time when they pushed forth a mandate that said that all Catholic institutions needed to offer their employees the right to sign up for contraceptive coverage on their insurance policies.

The uproar was immediate and the pushback came not only from the Catholic Church but from other denominations across the country.

The major media painted this as contraceptive issue and tried to pit the church against the strong women's groups in the country.

The truth is that was never the issue. The issue is, slowly and not from just this administration, there has been a continued breaching of the fine line of separation between church and state, which is protected by the first amendment. This mandate breached that fine line.

Friday there was a compromise of sorts. The Obama administration said the church would not have to offer these benefits, but insurance companies will have to offer the programs for free for the women who want them.

The sad reward is that the American public is now the looser in this controversy, because the free part means that all the rest of us will be picking up the charges.