Inside Politics

McCain and Dobson

Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said yesterday he hopes to patch things up with conservative Christian leader James Dobson, who recently said he wouldn’t support the Republican’s presidential bid under any circumstances.

In a radio interview with KCBI-FM, a Dallas Christian station, Mr. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, argued that Mr. McCain didn’t support traditional marriage and said he has prayed that “we won’t get stuck with him.”

“I’m obviously disappointed, and I’d like to continue and have a dialogue with Dr. Dobson and other members of the community,” Mr. McCain said during a stop in Columbia, S.C.

Mr. McCain has said homosexual “marriage” should not be legal, but has angered some conservatives with his opposition to a federal constitutional amendment against such unions. He said the issue should be left to the states.

“I’m happy to say that I’ve established a dialogue with a number of other leaders,” includingthe Rev. Jerry Falwell, “Purpose Driven Life” author Rick Warren and Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention, Mr. McCain said.

Media blackout

“So what happened to the story about Nancy Pelosi exempting American Samoa from the minimum wage because it benefits companies in her district?” radio talk-show host Neal Boortz asks at his blog site, boortz.com/nuze.

“Here we have a juicy little story affecting the Speaker of the House, and the media has chosen to look the other way. Imagine if this had been Newt Gingrich or Dennis Hastert. Would the press be so kind? Nope … but hey, this is a Democrat … the big cheese, the head honcho. She gets a pass. Maybe it’s because Dems plan to revise the bill to include American Samoa and cover the speaker’s behind,” Mr. Boortz said.

“Never mind the hypocrisy of it all. Democrats stand up there and tell us that you can’t raise a family on $5.15 an hour, that it needs to be raised to $7.25. Evidently you can raise a family on $7.25 an hour, even if it is phased in over two years. But when it comes to American Samoa, that’s different. And as long as the Del Monte Corporation, through its Star Kist subsidiary, is loading you up with campaign cash … then well … maybe you can raise a family on $5.15 an hour. At least if you live in American Samoa.

“So the story will wither on the vine, thanks to media bias. Can you imagine if Tom DeLay were doing this? It would still be front-page news. But Nancy Pelosi is a Democrat, and Democrats are protected by the media. You should know that by now.”

Boxer vs. Rice

“Last Friday’s exchange between Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice turned into the chew toy of cable news shows over the weekend — with Democrats arguing that Boxer was right to point out that Rice, a single woman, has no children fighting in Iraq, and White House spokesman Tony Snow indignant that Boxer had made ‘a great leap backward for feminism.’ ” San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders writes.

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