Dobson May Endorse McCain

This won't make any difference to me, but it might to a few evangelicals:

DENVER — 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. Dobson and his guest, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary president Albert Mohler, spend most of the pretaped Focus on the Family radio program criticizing Democratic candidate Barack Obama, getting to McCain at the very end.

In an advance copy provided to The Associated Press, Dobson said that while neither candidate is consistent with his views, McCain’s positions are closer by a wide margin.

“There’s nothing dishonorable in a person rethinking his or her positions, especially in a constantly changing political context,” Dobson said in a statement to the AP. “Barack Obama contradicts and threatens everything I believe about the institution of the family and what is best for the nation. His radical positions on life, marriage and national security force me to reevaluate the candidacy of our only other choice, John McCain.”

Earlier, Dobson had said he could not in good conscience vote for McCain, citing the candidate’s support for embryonic stem cell research and opposition to a federal constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, as well as concerns about McCain’s temper and foul language.

Dobson said on the radio program he must consider McCain’s record against abortion rights and support for smaller government, and added McCain “seems to understand the Muslim threat.” He also indicated McCain’s choice of a running mate will be a factor.

Of his new position, Dobson said in the statement to the AP, “If that is a flip-flop, then so be it.”

I think Dobson did so much damage to McCain during the primaries that any change of heart at this point wll be considered political expediency and won't really have much significance.

By the way, should you be under the impression that evangelicals are flocking to the Obamessiah (as often reported by the press), The Corner indicates that Obama is actually doing worse with evangelicals than John Kerry was at this time:

Despite all the hype over Obama's religious outreach, a new Pew survey indicates Obama actually has slightly less support from evangelicals than John Kerry had at this point four years ago. Not that this translates into evangelical enthusiasm for McCain, but the survey is worth noting for no other reason than it challenges the prevailing media assumptions about how Obama's overt religiosity is helping his campaign — which my better half details here. It seems to me that this is a classic example of the media trying to force a campaign narrative, regardless of whether it is true.