With any luck, FOCUS ON THE FAMILY will run itself off the rail in the next four years. Those conservative Christians who aspire to effect real social change are beginning to realize that abortion isn't the only issue in the world, and are finding that voting against their own moral interests (an unnecessary and horrifically unethical war, paying off any interest that can afford a PAC) just because a politician ostensibly shares their faith is getting old fast - whereas the Talibaptists who rather nakedly seek power more than social good are realizing that Republicans are starting to figure out that the majority of Americans are less and less interested in what they are selling.

This is a promising development. The more noise Dobson makes, the more mainstream Americans can learn how far away he is from them. Many of us are beginning to realize that asking for a God-test is the surest way to get politicians to lie; and we have real problems that require more of all of us than a public discussion of whether our mythologies need to be reflected in our policies.

Dobson and his colleagues abandon Republicans? First of all they do not owe their vote to anyone of any party. If one were running under the Democratic ticket but was pro-life and Christian he/she could certainly count on being "abandoned" by Secular Humanists. Dobson is no different than any other American who can vote based on a candidates and his own worldview. He sees mass-urder as an important issue, even the important issue facing this nation. However, I will say that any of the Republican candidates are more likely to nominate conservative judges and therefore Dobson and his friends may be shooting themselves in the foot.

The collapse of Republican evangelical hegemony may be near at hand. Last year, something like 30% of self-identified evangelicals voted Democratic according to exit polls. Add this to Dobson's failed attempt to expel Rich Cizik from his post with the National Association of Evangelicals (Cizik's heresy was to state that climate change is a serious problem and that environmentalism is not incompatible with Christian stewardship) and it feels like Dobson is making a last desperate grasp at relevancy.

Personally, I think that Dobson is busy playing to his own Bible-belt constituency. These people already feel that Bush didn't do enough for them on the core issues (abortion, school prayer, etc) - there is no way they would ever be satisfied under a Guiliani presidency. They're fricking zealots, for Pete's sake!

Dobson has given up on 2008 - he is simply going through the motions so that Ma and Pa Kettle will keep send him their dimes and quarters.

There is more to politics than religion. As our soldiers die, our treasury is drained, our salaries stagnate, our children go without health care and our mortgages default, more than a few people are thinking about the religious convictions of the next president. Some of us are actually looking for someone with a plan, with some answers, with a brain.

You give Dobson an importance he and his movement do not deserve by focusing on what he says. Maybe you should try focusing on what the rest of America is saying. They will pick the next president, not Dobson or his closed minded followers.