Please remember that Dobson ran “Focus on the Family.” The importance of the family is a core issue for him.
Also, with regard to Fred Thompson, church attendance is one problem he had that Gingrich does not have. Gingrich gives every impression of being a sincere and committed Roman Catholic convert. I'm impressed by what the pastor of Skyline Wesleyan Church wrote about Gingrich's personal faith and repentance, and while I am not Roman Catholic, I am very much aware that Gingrich would have had to go through a lot of "hoops" to have his marriage to Callista Gingrich recognized. I cannot simply accept the Roman Catholic Church's verdict on the matter without question, but it carries weight with me, knowing how seriously the Roman Catholic Church takes divorce and remarriage.
The biblical principle is that if a man cannot rule his own house he cannot rule the house of God. A man's success or failure in his family life is a good though certainly not perfect predictor of how he will handle greater responsibilities.
We can debate for a long time just how much the general equity of that biblical principle applies to secular rulership. For example, I campaigned for Ronald Reagan despite his divorce, and did so back when most Republicans I knew thought Reagan has no chance of winning, because I believed Jimmy Carter was naive and incompetent in addition to having bad policies. That's part of why I believe a Christian can support Newt Gingrich in good conscience -- President Obama really is a terrible president, and we need the best person possible to run against him.
However, Dobson is not saying something new or unusual. A few generations ago, what Dobson says now was standard wisdom not only in the church but also in many secular positions of leadership.
Our society isn't getting better when it comes to family life and Dobson’s views make a lot more sense than much of what gets said today about the role of the family in public service.
Nobody is calling into question Dobson’s moral views on the importance of family. What is questionable is political judgement and record as a kingmaker. The results of Dobson knifing Thompson and supporting no-chance Huckabee was what? McCain! By the way, how did McCain’s divorce and church attendance rate with Dobson? And I’m pretty sure Thompson wouldn’t have endorsed Obama, or ostentatiosly suspend his campaign to fly back to Washington and vote for TARP like McCain did. What was the end result of all the Machiavellian manuevers? An Obama presidency.
Dobson is just plain out of his depth in trying to play the secular political game. Results don’t lie, and Dobson’s Santorum game will likely also have disatrous results.