James Dobson's unhappy childhood
 

"Myrtle Dobson was an amiable and social woman, but she didn't hesitate to whack her son with a shoe or belt when she felt it was required. Consequently, Dobson writes, he learned at an early age to stay out of striking distance when he back-talked to his mother. One day he made the mistake of mouthing off when she was only four feet away and heard a 16-pound girdle whistling through the air. "The intended blow caught me across the chest, followed by a multitude of straps and buckles wrapping themselves around my midsection." The girdle incident did not dampen his defiance, however. One evening, after Dobson's mother forbid him from going to a dance, the recalcitrant teenager told her that he was going anyway; she picked up the telephone and called her husband. "I need you," she said."

And it gets even more interesting. I'm tempted to surmise some things about Dobson here, but I don't like it when journalists and pundits play "Freud on the Couch" or "Mind Reader" with people. Still, it does make me wonder...

Here's the article:

http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/7938.html

I guess I need to ask.. who is/was james dobson?

He's the big cheese at Focus on the Family. He has a syndicated, nationwide Christian radio show, oversees a Christian University, and has published lots of books. In terms of political influence, he's in the league with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson.