God-o-Meter is going to have to start keeping a tally of conservative Christians coming to Barack Obama’s defense. The latest is former George W. Bush aide Peter Wehner (pictured), who–despite having problems with Obama’s social liberalism–comes out swinging against James Dobson’s attack on Obama’s vision for faith in the public square:

…Obama was doing what people like Dobson have long urged: making the public square more hospitable for people of faith and calling for a halt to their demonization. Obama made his case in ways I found to be respectful and authentic….
But critics of Obama have an obligation to provide a fair and honest critique, and the attacks leveled by Dobson fall terribly short of that standard.
If Christian conservatives want to be taken seriously, they need to make serious arguments and speak with intellectual integrity. In this instance, Dobson didn’t. He has set back his cause and made some of us who are evangelicals and conservatives wince.

It’s yet to be seen whether Obama can appeal to rank and file evangelicals. But he’s doing a bang-up job so far appealing to evangelical elites–unlike, say, John McCain.

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