COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - To millions of conservative Christians, James Dobson and his Focus on the Family ministry have emerged as a life preserver in an American culture, fending off assaults from popular culture and liberals.“He’s trustworthy, he’s intelligent, he’s well-respected,” said the Rev. Ted Haggard, president of the National Association of Evangelicals representing more than 43,000 congregations. “If people would do what Jim Dobson suggests they would live a better life.”Yet Dobson has also become a lightning rod for criticism by weighing in on major political issues, from stem cell research and abortion to tax credits for families. Last month, Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., called him the “antichrist” and said he was trying to “hijack Christianity” by backing President Bush’s federal appeals court nominees.Salazar, a Roman Catholic, later backed off the antichrist comment, but stood by his claim that Dobson’s ministry has become an arm of the Republican Party.
