Dr. James Dobson says there is a possibility he "might" endorse Sen. John McCain for president.

Dr. Dobson said that while he has been critical of McCain in the past, "There's nothing dishonorable in a person rethinking his or her positions, especially in a constantly changing political context."

That's kind of funny.  Dobson came out fairly strongly against McCain not long back.  But didn't we all expect him to come around?  And why?  Because McCain now represents Dobson's connection to his Republican base and whatever hope he may still have of exercising political clout into the future.

Dobson's losses are likely to be great anyway.  Be glad you are not a religious "ministry" that has wholly invested itself in the pursuit of power through Republican politics.

Because most Americans see clearly that Democratic Senator Barack Obama represents

* intelligence,
* integrity,
* commitment to the common good,
* commitment to Constitutional government (once a very high American value, you may remember),
* true Christian faith,
* justice for all,
* strong support for moral health, honesty and integrity, keeping of commitments, at all levels of society,
* honesty in the White House,
* and even faithful devotion to his own wife and family.

Republican Senator John McCain, on the other hand, changes his positions on issues frequently, apparently without realizing he's doing so, readjusts the facts of history and current affairs to suit his thought-of-the-day, has a broad reputation as a woman-chaser - think Clinton, if you please -    and dumped his first wife for a younger, wealthier, sexier model (which Clinton did not do).  He also is well known for being quick-tempered (and intemperate in expressing it),

Sadly, Dobson can't see the truth staring him in the face - or maybe he is determined to ignore it.

These religious rightists have been shouting "Abortion! Baby-killers!" for so many years now, in deliberate, successful, cynical manipulation of conservative voters -- they're so used to it they can't stop shouting.  But it's not working like it used to.  People have learned about these extremists. Even with full control of the government they cannot (will not?) achieve real progress in the reduction of abortions, and they are wildly irresponsible and very dangerous in many other areas of public and international policy.

But let's move on.

And there's no doubt ... in my mind about whose policies will result in more babies being killed or who will do the greatest damage to the institution of marriage and the family.

"More babies being killed"?!

An administration that pursued integrity and justice - as an Obama administration would do and as the Bush administration did not and does not - WILL reduce the numbers of "babies being killed".  That is just a non-issue.  If you oppose abortion - "babies being killed" - you need to seriously think about getting behind Barack Obama.  Seriously.

For babies are being killed, after all, not only by abortion, - which I'm sure eight years of Obama would significantly reduce - but also by indiscriminate violence in Iraq (and other places), by high infant mortality rates, by high rates of violence in our cities (and rural places), by economic distress at home and abroad, by lack of health care.  There are lots of ways babies get killed, and the only one the religious right is concerned about is the one they can keep manipulating to pull in the votes of the religious right.  And against that one particular way of babies getting killed they do nothing effective.

By "the greatest damage" I suppose Dobson means Obama will not promote the short-sighted interests of the wealthy and powerful (including those powerful in religious circles) against the rest of us.  Because overall, Obama's character, experience, and positions tend strongly in the direction of the healing of our nation - morally, socially, economically, in international matters, and even spiritually.

As regards damage to our culture, Republican control of most branches of government for thirty years has not enabled them to make significant progress in improving the culture of our nation.   One might think it was not really a high priority.   In fact, most Americans feel Republicans have poisoned public life and badly wounded America's interests at home and around the world.  They have been and remain a major danger to our culture.

Still, Dobson says:

Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything I believe about the institution of the family and what is best for the nation.

Is that because Obama values sexual integrity, unlike McCain?  Is it because he's still with his first wife? Is it because he treats her, and others, with respect in public?

Is it because he knows what to be angry about, but is able to control and direct that anger into productive work and interactions?  Is it because he wants us to speak to and about one another with some respect?

Is it because he wants us to tell and hear the truth about current situations in our nation and overseas?  

Is it because he is very smart, very well-informed, and very articulate?  

Is it because he has a deep commitment to the common good, and lots of experience with poor people in our nation as well as in the higher reaches of society and politics?  Is it because he values our rights and freedoms as Americans?  Is it because he really means it when in the Pledge of Allegiance he says, "with justice for all"?

Is it because he is bi-racial?

What exactly IS it that is so terribly dangerous about all this???  Seems to me all those are excellent things to find in a Presidential candidate.

"His radical positions on life, marriage and national security force me to re-evaluate the candidacy of our only other choice, John McCain. I have not endorsed him, but ... I have concluded for the first time that I might. If that is a flip-flop, then so be it."

_________


Dobson recently made a strong statement in support of another distasteful memory of the Bush years - Tom DeLay.  That is a name that makes the skin crawl on many of us who followed his behavior over the years more or less closely.   How can a Christian and family-values leader continue to support such men?  That is seriously painful to contemplate.

Here are some quotes from a prior post at PublicChristian about DeLay (April 2006).

 "The Hammer" is slithering away under the pressure of - for a wonderful change - public morality and ethical spotlights. It is SO good sometimes to see at least a little justice come to even a few of the wicked while they are still alive. It is so inexpressibly appropriate.

DeLay, though he is highly respected by so many on the so-called Christian Right, is truly one of the wicked. You know them by their fruits. You know them by the reputation they have among those who work close to them. You do not know them on the basis of their flowery propaganda sermons and prayer-breakfast talks given to uncritical, undiscerning, inattentive, worshipful audiences who only long to have their self-flattering perceptions reaffirmed.

And what DeLay is going through (and so many others with him, and after him) reminds me not only of Benet's poem but also of the line in Psalm 16:
    The sorrows of those will increase
    who run after other gods.
    I will not pour out their libations of blood
    or take up their names on my lips.

The sorrows of those who have truly worshiped money and power will increase, and dramatically. And it is, after all, Biblical that it happen like that.

It may be that this whole Rotten Republicanism - the brightly flaming Culture of Corruption of which DeLay has been both a patron saint and one of the Czars - that whole monster may actually be dying right before our eyes. Dying beasts can do a lot of damage in those final thrashings and bellowings.

How should we proceed in the meantime? Well, one thing for sure, we should watch for, pray for, root for, support, and honor those men and women who have refused to "pour out their libations of blood." Honor the honorable; they are the ones through whom God will bless us and our planet if He possibly can.  (And God will bless if at all possible. He's funny that way.) Those honorable people are the ones I want to be aligned with, even if they go down in the struggle.

More by me on DeLay:
If DeLay Goes Down, Will They Change Their Ways?
Tom DeLay's House of Scandal is a Major Christian Moral Issue

(Does this post qualify as a rant?)