THE PULPIT: Is Palin the new Dobson?

Focus on the Family founder James Dobson has masterfully combined conservative Christianity and GOP politics for decades.

His influence in rallying evangelicals on issues like gay marriage and abortion is unprecedented, and GOP presidential candidates have long courted his endorsement, especially because his radio show has such a broad reach.

But Dobson is giving up the show in February, leading to speculation as to who will be the new voice of the evangelical-Republican movement. Many names have been mentioned — among them American Values president Gary Bauer — but none seem likely to fire up the evangelical base the way Dobson has.

Except, maybe, Sarah Palin. The prospect is interesting in light of the interest in her best-selling autobiography, “Going Rogue,” and national book tour, which hits Colorado Springs Dec. 8.

Similarities between Dobson and Palin abound.

Both easily combine conservative Christian values and Republican politics. Both have evangelical followers who hang onto their every word. Both are polarizing figures — Dobson has legions of detractors, and, according to a new Gallup poll, 50 percent of Americans view Palin unfavorably.

Both Dobson and Palin are prone to dramatic, politically charged statements. In June 2008, Dobson said Barack Obama distorts the Bible and has a “fruitcake interpretation” of the U.S. Constitution. Palin said in October 2008 that Obama “pals around with terrorists,” and she popularized the notion that the federal health care proposal includes “death panels.”

Recently, Palin showed some Dobson-like political muscle when she endorsed a conservative third-party candidate in a special congressional election in upstate New York, which led a moderate GOP candidate to withdraw.

Neither Dobson nor Palin is an evangelical pastor. That’s a plus. Their secular backgrounds — Dobson, a child psychologist, and Palin, a former Alaska governor — give them street cred on issues outside religion.

“There is no way to replace Dr. Dobson, but Palin may reach that level,” said Jim Pfaff, a conservative Christian radio host in Denver who worked for Focus from 2005 to 2007. “Right now it looks like she has that appeal.”

“Palin is perfect for it,” agreed John Whitehead, president of the Rutherford Institute, a Virginia-based organization that defends religious liberties. “She is overtly political, yet holds all the fundamentalist views.”

Whitehead, however, also said her becoming the de facto evangelical-Republican leader may be derailed by her ambition. “She wants to be president,” he said. “As a serious politician, she will have to compromise.”

And that may be the difference. Compromise has never been a Dobson trait.

To read more on Palin and other possible Dobson successors, go to my blog, “The Pulpit,” at http://www.thepulpit .freedomblogging.com.

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