Dr. James Dobson offers Romney some advice

Dr. James Dobson, the evangelical Christian author of "Dare to Discipline," "Bringing Up Boys," "Bringing up Girls" and dozens of other books, is telling likely GOP candidate Mitt Romney he needs to take a stand on the social issues that deeply concern conservative Americans.

Dobson, who founded the Colorado Springs-based Focus on the Family ministry, now runs FamilyTalk, a radio program addressing numerous family-related issues and subjects.

He earlier took a defiant stand against Barack Obama's health-care mandate that requires Americans to pay for contraception and abortion services, stating, "I WILL NOT pay the surcharge for abortion services. … So come and get me if you must, Mr. President. I will not bow before your wicked regulation."

As a private individual today in a commentary for WND, he writes, "In my view, it is not enough for a national leader to talk only about money, (taxes, the economy, jobs, the deficit, etc). Doing so fails to tap into the soul of America.

"Right and wrong matter too, as does our national defense and the well being of families. Gov. Romney's message thus far has been extremely narrow. He has become a 'Johnny-one-note' that accounts for the lack of enthusiasm among some American citizens," he writes.

Read Dr. Dobson's full column on the election, Barack Obama and Mitt Romney.

Dobson, who has advised three U.S. presidents on family matters and was inducted into the National Radio Hall of Fame in 2008, said the prospect of another four years for Obama is "disturbing."

"Millions of conservatives who revere the Constitution, with its guarantees of freedom and limited government, have watched with alarm as the campaign season has unfolded," he wrote. "Could the American people actually give this radical narcissist four more years at the helm, after his having wrecked the economy, undermined religious liberty, weakened the institution of the family, surrounded himself with Marxists and leftist czars, turned his back on Israel, virtually bankrupt our nation, forced recipients of health insurance to support abortion, declared himself to favor same-sex marriage, weakened our armed forces, covered up the Fast and Furious debacle, and assaulted the principles of free enterprise that made the United States the most envied and prosperous nation on earth?"

Obama is "incompetent" and holds a "dismal record," Dobson said.

He cited Matt Patterson's description in the American Thinker of Obama's career:

Imagine a future historian examining Obama's pre-presidential life: ushered into and through the Ivy League despite unremarkable grades and test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a "community organizer"; a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, so often did he vote "present"); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential ambitions. He left no academic legacy in academia, authored no signature legislation as a legislator. And then there is the matter of his troubling associations: the white-hating, America-loathing preacher who for decades served as Obama's "spiritual mentor"; [and] a real-life, actual terrorist who served as Obama's colleague and political sponsor. It is easy to imagine a future historian looking at it all and asking: how on Earth was such a man elected president?

Yet, Dobson writes, polls indicate Obama has about a 50-50 chance of re-election.

"That brings us to the candidacy of Mitt Romney," Dobson said. "I sense that he is not a true conservative on many issues. For example, he damaged his standing with social conservatives by the way he seriously mishandled the Chick-fil-A matter."

Romney said the Chick-fil-A issue was not part of his campaign. Dobson also cited concerns about Romney's willingness to allow homosexual youth (and possibly adults) in the Boy Scouts.

"My greatest concern is that Mitt Romney seldom addresses the social issues publicly. … I'm referring to the sanctity of human life, the traditional definition of marriage, and religious liberty."

He wrote that Romney's silence "may explain why many evangelicals and conservative Catholics are apathetic about Gov. Romney's candidacy. Few of them will vote for Barack Obama, but millions might stay at home."

Romney, Dobson said, could "connect with his conservative base if he will address the issues they care about."

He urged conservatives to get out and vote.

"Our country will never recover from four more years with Barack Obama at the helm."