The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 12)

p> I don't believe Dr. Dobson, a psychologist, has EVER used Reverend before his name, nor has he ever ministered to a church. Your use of the term is inaccurate, irrelevant and possibly disparaging to Dr. Dobson, who has been an acknowledged pain to Republicans, admittedly, but deserves accurate criticism. br> -- Talmage Campbell br> Beaumont, California /p>

Could you please take note of one item that harms the credibility of your name? James Dobson is not a pastor, minister or reverend. He has no such credentials. He has a PhD in psychology. To his credit, he has made this distinction a number of times in his daily radio broadcast through Focus on the Family. This information is available via a number of Internet resources. Is Mr. Lord so lazy and are you so trusting of your contributors?

p>It may seem like a small error to you, but some of your readers can't help but wonder about the motives of a writer who would ignore available facts and misrepresent the subject of his political opinion piece. br> -- Eric Mawhinney br> Fombell, Pennsylvania /p> p> Jeffrey Lord replies : br> One of the things I am not a fan of is people who are unable to simply say "I made a mistake." I did indeed. Dr. Dobson, so identified in the title of my piece, is not a minister, as I incorrectly titled him elsewhere. No pun intended, it was an error made in good faith. It was, perhaps, an unconscious tribute to someone whom I decidedly identify as a man of faith, even if he is in fact not a man of the cloth. As to my motives, gee. I think reader Eric Mahwhinney is a tad harsh. Deliberately misrepresenting a person about whom I am writing is something I have never done, nor would I. It certainly would take away from my credibility were that the truth. Dr. Dobson's views were accurately presented as I verified before writing them up. The events of 1986, which I also verified to refresh my own memory of events for which I was present, were also presented accurately.

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