White House 2008: Non-evangelicals need not apply

Whoops. Just kidding.

Well, someone did actually make the suggestion, but the person proposing such a ridiculous idea was none other than the deranged James Dobson, who is famous for encouraging parents to beat their children to tears and then stop, unless the children cry too much, in which case they should be beaten some more.

Why anyone takes this medieval throwback at all seriously is a mystery. Check out these other examples of "insight" from Dobson:

"[P]ain is a marvelous purifier. . . It is not necessary to beat the child into submission; a little bit of pain goes a long way for a young child. However, the spanking should be of sufficient magnitude to cause the child to cry genuinely." (from Dobson's Dare to Discipline, pages 6-7)

"If children cry for longer than five minutes, the child is merely complaining...I would require him to stop the protest crying, usually by offering him a little more of whatever caused the original tears." (from Dobson's "Complete Marriage and Family Reference Guide")

"I strongly recommend that parents of strong-willed and rebellious females, especially, quietly keep track of the particulars of their daughters' menstrual cycles." (from Dobson's "Challenges In The Family Years: Understanding Early Adolescents")

Yikes! Is it any wonder, then, that Dobson's favorite 2008 candidate is the ethically challenged, thrice-married, admitted philanderer, Newt Gingrich? What a shining model of evangelical Christianity!