T A B L E+T A L K Are women who take drugs while pregnant child abusers? Sound off in the Headlines area of Table Talk D A I L Y+Q U O T E Clinton ogled me, and I liked it! R E C E N T L Y Author, author! By Jonathan Broder Everyone wants to know who wrote the "talking points" (07/08/98) Investigating the investigator By Jonathan Broder Michael Shaheen, the man probing whether Kenneth Starr's key Whitewater witness was paid off by Clinton critics, is known as an ethical straight-shooter (07/07/98) True believer By Bruce Shapiro Kenneth Starr comes from a movement of right-wing judicial activists who are determined to revolutionize American law (07/03/98) Did you ever see the president stop beating his wife? By Todd Gitlin More questions for Mr. Starr's interrogation of Sidney Blumenthal (07/02/98) A prayer for Owen Mean By Peter Kurth John Irving emerges as a capitalist windbag as class warfare erupts in Vermont (07/01/98) - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Browse the Newsreal Archives - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
		God's own ZIP Code Back at radio evangelist James Dobson's headquarters, a dedicated army of true believers is poised to breach the church-state line. - - - - - - - - - - - - BY CHRISTOPHER OTT Think of evangelists on the air, and a variety of unsavory images come to mind. Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, bawling for dollars. Oral Roberts, who once threatened that God would end his life if followers didn't pony up a multimillion-dollar sum. Ham-handed moralists like Jerry Falwell. Ambitious politicos like Pat Robertson, who recently warned that hurricanes or "possibly a meteor" would punish the city of Orlando, Fla., for its gay-pride celebration. James Dobson, the force behind the radio-based ministry Focus on the Family, has a different style, nearly always presenting himself with an air of earnest, prudent authority. Whereas Dobson's colleagues have been trying for decades, with some success, to pull the center of political debate in America more firmly to the right, it is Dobson who now seems poised to have a serious impact on the nation's agenda. One sign came earlier this year when he lambasted the Republican Party for its insufficiently conservative agenda; soon after, he received high-level assurances at a meeting with Newt Gingrich and other party leaders in May that his concerns would be addressed. So how has Dobson become so influential? He portrays himself as a simple family man whose sole concern is to serve God and strengthen society's most basic institution. His technique is to parcel out a brand of levelheaded, country-doctorlike advice. A psychologist by training, Dobson wrote a conservative child-rearing manual in 1970 called "Dare to Discipline." He launched his flagship "Focus on the Family" radio show in 1977, and he now presides over a robust media machine that offers radio and TV programming, magazines and personal counseling services. His radio broadcast reportedly reaches a core audience of around 4 million, plus tens of millions more who tune in from time to time. "I just felt that the family was unraveling," Dobson says of his life's work in a film shown to visitors to the Focus on the Family welcome center. "We have been very unfriendly to the family in this nation." Dobson gives the impression that he would gladly avoid the spotlight if his concern and his principles left him any other choice. The truth about Dobson is a little more complicated. I decided to pay a simple visit to the Focus headquarters' welcome center just off Interstate 25 on the north side of Colorado Springs. Dobson has turned the Focus campus into a kind of wholesome tourist trap, so one sunny Saturday morning, I drove in for a look. The understated sign on the highway for Focus on the Family implies a modest building and a rack of free pamphlets. In reality, the Focus campus spreads over 77 acres with handsome new brick buildings, professional landscaping and even its own traffic signs. Thirteen hundred employees work here; Focus has its very own ZIP Code. A brochure I had requested in the mail beforehand said that visitors would feel "like part of the family," and not long after arriving, I do. As soon as I walk in the door for the first hourly tour of the morning, I'm passed around by the staff like a long-lost cousin at a family reunion. A security guard personally introduces me to Steve, my guide, who gives me a name tag and puts me in the care of a young receptionist while he runs an errand. I try to keep out of her way by admiring a collection of antique radios in the lobby, but she doesn't neglect me for a moment. "It's strange," she says to make polite conversation, "that more people haven't showed up. We're used to bigger groups." "I'll bet," I say. Despite the parking spaces for buses and RVs in the lot, I'm skeptical about the mythic reach of Dobson's popularity. We chat for a few minutes, but no other visitors show up this early. Steve returns, and we head off on my personal tour of James Dobson's evangelical stronghold. N E X T+P A G E+| No ostentation in sight - - - - - - - - - - - - PHOTO AP/WIDE WORLD