Daddy Dobson
Arguably America's most powerful conservative, James Dobson throws his weight around Washington--and people listen.
By Howard Fineman

...He s the kind of guy that anyone might want to talk to about their kids, and you have a sense that the discussion would be polite, even if you disagreed. It's that decency and civility that has made Dobson such a force in the country.

But politics is another matter. He was venomous on the topic of the federal judiciary, which he sees largely as a coven of secular ayatollahs imposing a pro-abortion, pro-pornography, pro-gay-and-lesbian agenda on a Christian nation. He and his lieutenants have become deeply versed in the voting records and election prospects of the senators who will handle the judicial nominations.

I asked him what his top priority was in public life, and was astonished to hear him answer: ending the filibuster rule. Any Republicans who stray from the party line on that issue can expect the full weight of Dobson to come down on them.

Beneath the placid demeanor I sensed an urgency and intensity a man close to the boiling point at what he sees as the iniquities of political leadership. Are members of Congress unruly children needing discipline from the "Dare to Discipline" author? Maybe so, but we don t know how they will respond to Daddy Dobson. And we don't know how Dobson himself will react if they defy him. He's kept his cool so far, but that would be the ultimate test.