Dobson Resigns from Focus on the Family

Religion | Sat, Feb 28, 2009 at 8:12:53 am PST

Fundamentalist preacher/talk show host James Dobson has retired from Focus on the Family, the far-right religious-political organization he founded.

The official reason given is that Dobson is making way for the next generation.

His departure means that Focus recognizes the need to prepare for the post-Dobson era. Dobson turns 73 this year. The transition won’t be easy. On the one hand, Dobson—a child psychologist—is the organization’s greatest asset, and phasing him out may do Focus in. On the other, Dobson has become a liability because the cult of personality around him has prevented the organization from connecting to a new generation of Christians.

It’s hard to say how much influence Dobson had on the GOP’s loss, but he was openly contemptuous of both John McCain and Rudy Giuliani, and endorsed Mike Huckabee during the primaries.