Some good, some bad in election, Dobson says

Tuesday's election was a mixed blessing for James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, based in Colorado Springs: dismay over the election of "the most committed pro-abortion president in our history," but jubilation over passage of same-sex marriage bans in Florida, Arizona and California.

In a Focus on the Family radio broadcast that aired Thursday and Friday, Dobson chatted about the election results with Tom Minnery, senior vice president of Focus' political arm; Gary Bauer, president of American Values; Jim Garlow, a San Diego pastor who worked for passage of the California measure on marriage; and John Stemberger, president of the Florida Family Policy Council, who worked for passage of a similar measure in Florida.

Dobson acknowledged the historic nature of Barack Obama's election as the country's first black president.

"We celebrate Barack Obama's victory. What he has achieved here is nothing short of historic," Dobson said.

But he said he believes Obama threatens to unravel what Focus and its followers have worked to achieve for three decades.

"I have to say that his win causes me enormous concern because he will be the most committed pro-abortion president in our history. He's in favor of much of the homosexual agenda, and he's going to appoint the most liberal justices to the Supreme Court perhaps that we've ever had."

He also lamented the defeat of incumbent Sen. Elizabeth Dole in North Carolina and Rep. Marilyn Musgrave, who lost Colorado's Congressional District 4 race to Democrat Betsy Markey.

The bright spot, he and his radio guests agreed, was victory in the battle to define marriage as being between a man and a woman. Focus contributed about $500,000 in support of California's Proposition 8, which creates a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman.

"Thirty states have now voted to define marriage and put it in their constitution," he said.

Rather than feel defeated, Dobson and the others said this is a time to rally around their core beliefs, and said the social conservative movement is alive and well. And no matter how concerned he is about the new president, "it is time to pray for President-elect Obama," he told his listeners.