Evangelical leader James Dobson called Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama’s views on abortion and the Constitution “a fruitcake interpretation” in a radio broadcast Tuesday.
Dobson’s segment largely focused on Obama’s 2006 religiously-themed Call to Renewal Speech and took particular issue with Obama’s refusal to support the Born Alive Infant Protection Act as an Illinois State Senator. The bill would have given medical protection to babies who miraculously survived abortion.
Dobson played several audio portions of Obama’s speech, pausing to criticize certain passages. Obama, who maintains he is personally pro-life but has a 100 percent voting record from abortion lobbyists, said, “I may be opposed to abortion for religious reasons, but if I seek to pass a law banning the practice, I cannot simply point to the teachings of my church or evoke God's will. I have to explain why abortion violates some principle that is accessible to people of all faiths, including those with no faith at all.”
Dobson seethed. “What the senator is saying there, in essence, is that I can’t seek to pass legislation for example, that bans partial birth abortion because there are people in the culture who don’t see that as a moral issue and if I can’t get everyone to agree with me, it is undemocratic to try to pass legislation that I find offensive to the Scripture. That is a fruitcake interpretation of the Constitution.”
“As you can see I’ve managed to raise my blood pressure here,” Dobson remarked to his co-host Tom Minnery, Focus Vice President of Public Policy. Dobson also discussed Obama’s relationship with his controversial former pastor Rev. Jeremiah Wright during the broadcast.
Dobson’s decision to begin directly attacking Obama should not be interpreted as newfound support for GOP presidential candidate John McCain. During the Republican primaries Dobson dramatically said, “I would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.” Dobson is still critical of McCain and said he will examine McCain's record on marriage on his radio program next week.