James Dobson won't back McCain

Since the death of Jerry Falwell (praise Jesus) James Dobson is arguably the most powerful Christian leader in the U.S., so his announcement that he won't support John McCain is big news in many ways.

While the knee-jerk reaction to this might be to write off McCain based on the popular wisdom that Republican candidates need the support of the religious right to win, the fact that he is winning, and against some very conservative candidates, suggests the religious right may be losing some of its power and relevance. When we examine Dobson's comments, we see a clue as to why:

"I am deeply disappointed the Republican Party seems poised to select a nominee who did not support a Constitutional amendment to protect the institution of marriage, voted for embryonic stem-cell research to kill nascent human beings, opposed tax cuts that ended the marriage penalty, has little regard for freedom of speech, organized the Gang of 14 to preserve filibusters in judicial hearings, and has a legendary temper and often uses foul and obscene language."

Now let's consider this for a moment. In a time of record budget deficits, a failing economy, impending global warming, military efforts of questionable success and unprecedented expense, a looming social security crisis, failing systems of education and medicine, and constutional crises that strike at the heart of our nation, James Dobson is going to sit out the election of a president because the Republican candidate does not believe in banning gay marriage, stem cell research, tax cuts for married couples, and judicial hearing filibusters. Oh and he uses bad words.

With such infantile and irrelevant concerns, it is a wonder that Dobson could find no candidate to support. Dobson, like too many on the right side of the aisle, is living in an alternate universe, where all economic problems are solved with tax cuts, only heterosexuals can love, and blastocysts are human beings. He is out of touch with reality, plain and simple, and is destined to become more and more irrelevant with each passing day and each scientific discovery.

"I think we're facing such a point of crisis in our country, that we're going to have to have the strongest leadership we can. And I think I could deal with that in the polling booth."

I agree with Dr. Dobson on that point. We are indeed in a point of crisis in our country, but it was caused by the very same faith-based out-of-touch view that he is promoting. We've had eight years of that, thank you, that is enough.