God-o-Meter

James Dobson on Fred Thompson: “Not for me!”

Thursday September 20, 2007

Categories: Fred Thompson

Watching the giddiness of top-tier Christian Right leaders for Fred Thompson steadily wane in the two weeks since he officially entered the race, God-o-Meter’s needle has ticked further downward with each passing day. This morning, with news of a leaked email from Focus on the Family founder and evangelical political powerbroker James Dobson saying he won’t support Thompson, the needle lands with a thud at 2, its lowest reading for any candidate at any point so far.

“Isn't Thompson the candidate who is opposed to a Constitutional amendment to protect marriage, believes there should be 50 different definitions of marriage in the U.S., favors McCain-Feingold, won't talk at all about what he believes, and can't speak his way out of a paper bag on the campaign trail?” Dobson wrote in a private email to conservative activists that was obtained by the Associated Press. “…And yet he is apparently the Great Hope that burns in the breasts of many conservative Christians? Well, not for me, my brothers. Not for me!”

Thompson and Dobson’s relationship got off to a rocky start when Dobson said of the former Tennessee Senator this March, “I don't think he's a Christian; at least that's my impression.” Still, Thompson had hired well-known Christian activists, including the conservative outreach director for former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and the head of the conservative Catholic group Fidelis, to help land endorsements from the likes of Dobson. Still banking on support in the evangelical-rich Deep South, God-o-Meter wonders if Thompson will pick up support from any big-name evangelical leaders besides fellow Tennesseean and Southern Baptist Convention public policy chief Richard Land.

2

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Comments
G. Hamblin
September 27, 2007 7:20 PM

Thompson, not for me....he is a silent running submarine, with no defined platform or belief.....afraid to commit to a moral position; seldom attends Church, which indicates to me religion does not play an important part in his life....maybe it does, but the evidence for it is scant thus far!

No, Mr. Thompson probably is in the race to draw away the votes from those candidates who might present a challenge to Mr. Giuliani!

Lowell Browning
October 5, 2007 3:45 PM

I tell ya fellas...he's good on Law&Order...and,if elected he would pretty-up America's newspapers because Fred's wife would be in the news regularly.....She's Hot!!!Fred's Not!!!!

Nunuv Yerbizness
November 14, 2007 2:49 AM

Even before he talked about running, I can recall thinking that if his real-world opinions were anything like the ones of his "Law & Order" character, that I was glad that he was out of politics. Richard Nixon was tight about him.

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About God-o-Meter

This blog is no longer updated and is closed for comments. We welcome your comments about politics in our Politics forums.

The God-o-Meter (pronounced Gah-DOM-meter) scientifically measures factors such as rate of God-talk, effectiveness—saying God wants a capital gains tax cut doesn't guarantee a high rating—and other top-secret criteria (Actually, the adjustment criteria are here). Click a candidate's head to get his or her latest God-o-Meter reading and blog post. And check back often. With so much happening on the campaign trail, God-o-Meter is constantly recalibrating!

God-o-Meter blogger Dan Gilgoff is Beliefnet's Politics Editor. A former political correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, he is author of The Jesus Machine: How James Dobson, Focus on the Family, and Evangelical America are Winning the Culture War.

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