Doug Kmiec, a prominent “Obamacon” and leading Catholic apologist for Barack Obama’s abortion position during the 2008 election, has indicated that he might not support the president’s reelection because of the HHS contraception mandate.

Kmiec was a veteran of the Reagan administration and former adviser to Mitt Romney’s 2008 campaign before supporting Obama. He wrote a book and many articles arguing that pro-life Catholic could — and should — vote for the Democratic nominee in that election. Kmiec was rewarded with an ambassadorship to Malta, from which he resigned after a State Department report criticized him for talking and writing too much about his religious beliefs. Kmiec didn’t really emphasize his just war objections to John McCain and supported the health care bill from which the mandate he opposes ultimately sprang.

He told The Hill that “there were several ways to reimburse employees of Catholic institutions for the expense which did not implicate any of the ethical concerns of the theologians. Why exactly did we not walk down a path that would have led to common ground – namely, coverage without ethical objection? That’s what I need answered before deciding on 2012. I find it most troubling to be tossed into this dilemma since as a Republican with independent, if not latent Democratic, tendencies, I am very proud of the president’s success on the healthcare initiative and his withdrawal of troops from Iraq…”

I wrote at length about Kmiec’s campaiging for Obama a while back. Apparently the president has finally — perhaps — gone a bridge too far.