Evangelicals’ Reaction to Palin: Many Embrace, Some Hesitate

Suzanne Sataline reports on religion and the presidential race. The reaction from some evangelicals to John McCain ’s selection of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin ranged from enthusiastic glee to stunned uncertainty. James Dobson , the one-time powerful political force who runs Focus on the Family, a conservative nonprofit, called Palin “an outstanding choice that should be extremely reassuring to the conservative base’’ of the GOP, he said in a statement. Evangelicals, he noted, had been disconcerted by the possibility that the Republican presidential candidate might choose former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge or Sen. Joseph Lieberman of Connecticut, both who conservatives consider to favor a woman’s right to terminate a pregnancy. They were also nervous about the rumored choice of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney , whose views on abortion became more conservative after he announced his run for the presidency. J. Quin Monson , a political science professor at Brigham ... (link)