James Dobson now says he might endorse John McCain for president.

[WhiskeyGirl]

 

Dobson Will Endorse McCain

Category: Politics
Posted on: July 22, 2008 9:30 AM, by Ed Brayton

In a change of position that could only surprise the astonishingly naive (i.e. his own followers), James Dobson now says he might endorse John McCain for president.

Conservative Christian leader James Dobson has softened his stance against Republican presidential hopeful John McCain, saying he could reverse his position and endorse the Arizona senator despite serious misgivings.
 
"I never thought I would hear myself saying this," Dobson said in a radio broadcast to air Monday. "... While I am not endorsing Senator John McCain, the possibility is there that I might."

Dobson and other evangelical leaders unimpressed by McCain increasingly are taking a lesser-of-two-evils approach to the 2008 race.

Anyone who believes that he really didn't think he would ever hear himself saying that is breathtakingly clueless. James Dobson isn't stupid. Saying a few months ago that he couldn't endorse McCain was nothing more than a move to gain leverage. John McCain needs the religious right leaders to give him the okay in order to win in November and Dobson damn well knows it. So by withholding initial support, he gained leverage with which to extract promises from McCain.

What promises? As I've been telling people for months, there is only one thing they really and truly want and know that they can get if they can keep Obama out of the White House: the Supreme Court. I guarantee you they have already cut a deal with McCain that says we'll urge our followers to vote for you as the lesser of two evils if you choose nominees for the high court from our short list.

There was never any doubt that this was going to happen. Did anyone really believe that Dobson was going to sit out the campaign and lose all his ability to influence the outcome? Did anyone really believe that he was going to tell his followers not to support McCain or to vote third party, thereby assuring Obama's election? Not a chance. Dobson may be a lunatic, but he's a shrewd lunatic.

Comments

At least his influence is overstated. I read somewhere that this massive evangelical movement is only massive because of creative census reading, and an intensive networking plan that sends out mailers into the pews, where no one reads them, if there's anyone there.
That being said, there are still a lot of evangelicals.

Posted by: matt | July 22, 2008 10:18 AM

http://scienceblogs.com/dispatches/2008/07/dobson_will_endorse_mccain.php

Straight from the 'science blog' 

What are the promises he extracted?   Hmmm?