Dobson doesn't speak for me

Yet even more about that Dobson - Obama spat. Here is an opinion, by Amy Sullivan in Time, that Dobson's rant is backfiring. One issue which brought out Dobson's ire is Obama's statement that it is possible to be moral without being religious. Here are some developments related to Dobson's rant:

Democrats as a whole, and Obama in particular, are no longer cowering in silence when Dobson speaks.

Within a day, the website www.jamesdobsondoesntspeakforme.com was up. It's a site that's been in the works for quite a while, waiting for Dobson to open his mouth. Behind it is group of Christian leaders, headed by Kirbyjon Caldwell, who was gave the benediction at Bush's first inauguration. Similarly, a political action committee called the Matthew 25 Network (named for a chapter in the bible that has 3 stories -- the wise and foolish virgins in which Jesus tells us to stay alert, the story of investment in which a slave is berated because he didn't invest some money for fear he will lose it, and the story of sheep and goats in which Jesus describes what will send you to hell or get you into heaven [hint: being gay isn't listed]) has started airing ads in Dobson's home market.

McCain has refused to trek to Dobson for a blessing (not surprising since Dobson came out forcefully against McCain in the primary).

Obama has been talking about his faith, making it harder for Evangelicals to call him a secular bogeyman, even as Obama criticizes their "certainty theology," the idea that "real" Christians have no doubts about how right they are.

Obama's case has been helped by a shift in attitude documented in a recent poll which shows 70% of Americans agree with the statement "Many religions can lead to eternal life."

Dobson's younger colleagues are refusing to enter the political fray at the same time they add environment, poverty, and health care to the top issues alongside abortion, gay rights, and stem-cell research.

And even mainstream conservative media are no longer piling on when Dobson and colleagues rant. Now they are calling such rants "intolerant."

All of this is good news.