Here's Focus on the Family's James Dobson during the 2000 presidential race, condemning John McCain (R):
McCain has accepted huge contributions from the gambling industry and apparently is comfortable with the proliferation of gambling in American society. He has also accepted large contributions from producers of alcohol. McCain is in favor of combat assignments for women in the military, and has sought and received enormous financial and political support from the Log Cabin Republicans and other homosexual activists. McCain also supports Most Favored Nation status for the brutal regime in China, and voted against our nation's monitoring of Communist Chinese commercial fronts operating in the United States. He seeks to appease the bloated Federal public school bureaucracy and has refused to support vouchers.
"The Senator," Dobson said, "is being touted by the media as a man of principle, yet he was involved with other women while married to his first wife, and was implicated in the so-called Keating scandal with four other senators. He was eventually reprimanded by the Congress for the 'appearance of impropriety.' The Senator reportedly has a violent temper and can be extremely confrontational and profane when angry. These red flags about Senator McCain's character are reminiscent of the man who now occupies the White House."
Here's McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt today:
In what represents a marked shift from the Republican campaign rhetoric of 2004 – where some George W. Bush advisors stoked anti-gay sentiment in an attempt to drive social conservatives to the polls – Steve Schmidt, senior campaign strategist for the McCain campaign, stopped by a Log Cabin Republican luncheon Thursday to welcome the group to the convention.
“I just wanted to take a second to come by and pay my respect and the campaign’s respect to your organization and to your group,” said Schmidt, who many view as the new architect of the Republican Party. “Your organization is an important one in the fabric of our party.”
Maybe I missed Dobson's press release condemning McCain's effort to court the Log Cabin Republicans. Either that or Dobson is every bit the Pharisee that we believe he is.
(By the way, be sure to read Dobson's second paragraph above, as well. As I've mentioned before, McCain is still every bit that same man today.)
P.S. -- Dobson earlier this week:
Dobson: But I can tell you that if I had to go into the studio, I mean the voting booth today, I would pull that lever [for McCain].
Mark Nickolas is the Managing Editor of Political Base, and this story was from his original post, "Cat Got Your Tongue, James Dobson?"