Dobson's Focus on the Family Moves Inside the Beltway

By Paul Bedard, Washington Whispers

It's among the nation's biggest charities and evangelical ministries, but the politically influential Focus on the Family has never played much in Washington. Now that's changing, part of the shift of control from founder James Dobson to President Jim Daly. For the first time, the conservative Focus is opening a Washington office. Tim Goeglein, the group's vice president of external relations, says his job is not primarily to beat up on President Obama's policies but to get Focus's mission better known. "If social conservatism is the spear, then Focus is the tip of the spear," says Goeglein. He is uniquely qualified. A senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation, he was former President Bush's aide de camp on conservative and Christian issues. "Tim brings with him a wealth of experience and relationships that will prove invaluable to our efforts to defend the sanctity of human life, protect the institution of marriage, and ensure the religious-freedom rights of Christians," Daly says. "He will be our eyes and ears in Washington."

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