Also, Rick Scarborough thinks this means the Republicans will lose (Newsbusters).

You see, James “Potatohead” Dobson long ago vowed never to vote for John McCain (NewsMax), which means he’s sitting this one out. McCain is leading his nearest rival by nearly 30 points in the latest FauxNews poll. This guy is looking as good as gold. That means Dobson sits on the sidelines, Eh?

Does this put Rush “Oxypublican” Limbaugh on the sidelines, too. The New York Times article referred to in both of the above links has some interesting things to say on the subject.

Many on the right, though, say Mr. McCain has a lot of explaining to do. Not only did he vote against President Bush’s tax cuts and a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, Mr. McCain has also supported embryonic stem cell research and stricter environmental regulation. He fought for looser immigration rules. He championed campaign finance rules that many on the right consider a violation of free speech. And he made a deal with Democrats to break a deadlock on judicial nominations that many on the right considered near treasonous.

Anger over that deal flared up again this week when a Wall Street Journal columnist, John Fund, reported that Mr. McCain had privately criticized Mr. Bush’s Supreme Court nominee Justice Samuel A. Alito Jr. because “he wore his conservatism on his sleeve.”

The McCain campaign quickly denied that he held such a view, noting that the senator voted for Mr. Alito’s confirmation and routinely praises his selection on the stump. But conservative activists say the charges nonetheless reminded them of their doubts.

“Conservatives need to act now, before it is too late!” Mark R. Levin, a movement veteran and talk-radio host, wrote on the Web site of National Review, urging a “rally for Romney.” The publication was host to an online debate on Wednesday on the question “A Republican future with McCain?”

A spokesman for Dr. Dobson, the influential evangelical Christian founder of Focus on the Family, said Wednesday that he stood by the position he staked out more than a year ago that as a matter of conscience he could never vote for Mr. McCain.

Nor has the small-government wing of the movement swung to Mr. McCain’s side. “I have yet to see McCain make any attempts to reach out to free market conservatives,” said Pat Toomey, president of the antitax group Club for Growth, warning that “if you have a big problem with a big part of your base, you really should be mending fences.”

And in his broadcast on Thursday, Mr. Limbaugh escalated his attacks on Mr. McCain as an imposter in the party.

“McCain is in a lot of these places not actually the Republican candidate,” Mr. Limbaugh said. “He is the candidate of enough Republicans, but independents and moderates and probably even some liberals.”

Mr. Limbaugh contended that such voters were deciding Republican primaries because other candidates had divided the conservative vote.

There’s some real ugliness out there, enough to knock James Dobson’s influence out of the game. That’s something to celebrate. Another thing. Tony Perkins and Grover Norquist, because they are starting to support McCain even given McCain’s stances in the past, are starting to look level-headed. Who knew?

Hey, it isn’t like Mitt Romney is coming back. That FauxNews poll of national voters showed an almost 30 point lead for McCain. And even Romney doesn’t have the money to bankroll that kind of comeback. Heck, even the biggest GOP fundraiser, Ron Paul, couldn’t do that.