Monday, February 18, 2008

Dobson Endorses Huckabee--Too Late

Christian Right Grand Pooh Bah James Dobson of Focus in the Family waited until two days after Super Tuesday to endorse Southern Baptist preacher Mike Huckabee. By then it was too late to make any difference.

Why wait until it didn't matter? One explanation is that the other "family values" candidate, Mitt Romney, had "suspended" his campaign earlier in the day, leaving only Huckabee to represent the fundagelical wing of the Republican Party. My personal take is that Dobson has always been the purest of purists. I remember back in the summer of 2000 when George W. Bush was the inevitable GOP nominee and was floating several names as possible VP candidates, one of which was Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania, who had something of a pro-choice record. Dobson sent out mailers and went on the radio to say that he would refuse to support W if he selected Ridge or any other candidate with less than absolutely pro-life credentials. As it turned out, of course, Dick (shoot-em-up) Cheney led the search for a vice-president, and selected himself so that he could be our shadow president.

Dobson probably also sees Huckabee as less than pure. Unfortunately the former governor of Arkansas seems to have a soft spot in his heart for poor people, children of undocumented immigrants and the average working stiff. That in itself would be enough to give Dobson pause. Maybe Dobson thought the best way to punish Huckabee for his transgressions would be to wait until the very moment when his endorsement meant nothing.

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