It's Moderately Super Wednesday! - NYTimes.com Gail Collins: David, you were right. You predicted that the Republican presidential race was going to drag on into the summer, like one of those reality TV shows about hoarders that simultaneously appall and mesmerize onlookers. Truly, if Newt Gingrich had a few dead cats in the kitchen, it would be exactly the same thing. David Brooks: I only wish Romney had a few dead cats in his. Maybe that would humanize him. I've obviously never seen Mitt Romney's closets, but I feel pretty certain they are much better organized than mine. Maybe that's why people don't warm to him. Gail: Yes, I definitely can imagine him lining up the shoes according to color. I don't generally believe that what happens in March of a presidential election year means much about how things will look in October. But the fact that Mitt Romney can't seem to put away Rick Santorum - Rick Santorum - cannot possibly be a good sign for Republicans. David: I strongly think Romney will look a lot better in six months he does now. All the things that cause him problems today will be benefits in the fall. He's moderate. He's pragmatic. Plus, in the fall he will be able to have a debate over the role of government with Obama. The public is closer to the Republicans on that issue. Romney will still have his problems with downmarket voters, but Obama isn't exactly their cup of tea either. Gail: There's been a lot of talk lately about the Republicans being demographically doomed. Their strong suit - white, non-college voters - is shrinking while young and minority and college-educated voters are growing. Also, I believe Republicans do well with white married women but not so much with white single women. And as we've noted before, the married-women sector is dwindling. David: I'm very skeptical of demographic projections about American politics. Parties change and win and lose constituencies all the time. Republicans used to win on the Upper East Side of Manhattan and lose the Pennsylvania steel towns. Now it's usually the reverse. Issues and problems shape politics more than demographics. Gail: Can we stick to the topic of women for a minute? I've been fascinated by how this whole contraception debate has been playing out. For one thing, the Democratic party ought to send flowers to Rush Limbaugh - although probably not from the flower service that just canceled its ads on his program. David: I've always said he's a secret paid operative of the Democratic Party. That is the only theory that consistently explains his behavior. Gail: If you look back on what's happened to women over the last half-century - how the world has opened up for them to have adventures, pursue careers, make choices about the kind of lives they want to live - it all goes back to effective contraception. Before the birth control pill came along, a woman who wanted to pursue a life that involved a lot of education, or a long climb up a career ladder, pretty much had to be willing to devote herself to perpetual celibacy. That's what contraception means to women. And there's Rush, making it clear that to him and his kind, it means a license to promiscuity, prostitution. You cannot possibly have a bigger gap in world views. David: Well, you wrote the book on this, so I fear to tread, but I disagree. I think the shift from an industrial economy to an information economy was the big thing that explains the liberation of women. The shift from brawn to brainpower. I've always said that Rush is a secret paid operative of the Democratic Party. The sexual revolution, contraception, abortion and all that has left American women as divided and ambivalent as American men. I just don't think there is a "woman's" position on these issues. True, the vast majority percent of Americans, male and female, are fine with contraception, narrowly defined, but gender does not correlate well to views on social issues generally. Gail: I know we disagree about the right of the Catholic bishops to refuse to offer any kind of health insurance that includes contraception. If I remember my college theology, President Obama has set the program up in a way that should remove any moral issue for Catholic administrators, since their intent would be to offer health care to their employees, while the contraceptives - which they wouldn't pay for - would be a byproduct that they didn't seek. The bishops are being played by Republicans who want to kill off the Obama health care reforms. And whatever you think of health care reform, its goal of providing coverage to all Americans, requiring responsibility of those who can afford to pay and giving aid to those who can't, is totally in concert with the Church's social goals. David: I liked the fallback position Obama adopted. It was phony, but respectful, which is the sort of fudge we make all the time in the real world. Gail: I'll go with you on that. We need more phony but respectful gestures in this country. David: I don't think the bishops are being played. They are sophisticated political actors. But they are the first of many who will see the true ramifications of the Obama health care reforms. They insert government between employers and employees and into all the open spaces throughout the health care system. Government officials will have the power to order all sorts of things in the name of values, efficiency or whatever else they can think up. I invite you to imagine how the Obama health care initiative will be implemented if Rick Santorum become president. Gail: Well, we'll certainly have a useful and interesting time arguing about this - in September. Until then, it looks like it'll be nothing but delegate counts. And fantasies about a knight in shining armor who bears an improbable resemblance to Chris Christie or Mitch Daniels. And who hates Iran more. Wonderful way to spend the spring. Bring on the daffodils. David: Daffodils? They are already blooming in Washington. And I spent Super Tuesday at Port St. Lucie, Fla., watching my beloved Mets play the Cardinals. I even wrangled a press pass so I could hang around the clubhouse. For me, spring is here. The tobacco juices are flying!