Montopoli writes:

Guest blogging on the Web site of the liberal Washington Monthly, Amy Sullivan wrote, "I try not to comment on all of the ridiculous things that come out of Pat Robertson's mouth because 1) he's a moonbat who seems to be reading a very different translation of the Bible than I am, and 2) most evangelicals, even conservative ones, don't think of him as a spokesperson who represents their views."

.... I asked "Evening News" host Bob Schieffer for his thoughts on Robertson and whether he thought there were others who better represent evangelicals.

Schieffer, who considers himself a religious person, has covered Robertson and interviewed him several times in the past, and says "at the beginning he represented a particular point of view, and articulated it quite well." But he's reluctant to cover him now.

"I think we have to be very careful about quoting Robertson, because I'm not sure who he represents anymore," he said. "His comments have gone beyond interesting and into bizarre." The "Evening News," he points out, has not covered Robertson's recent comments.

So who does he think is a better representative of evangelicals? Jim Wallis, who Schieffer calls "very compelling." (It's worth noting that many consider Wallis to be left-leaning, unlike most evangelical leaders.)

Michael Bass, the executive producer of the "Early Show," also gave me his take on the issue. "We would only try to book Pat Robertson when he's a newsmaker and we want to interview him to ask him about it," he says. "Otherwise he would not be a choice for us because there are other people who speak for many more people."

The attempt to minimize Robertson's importance and dismiss him as a "moonbat" with a small audience is not only misguided, but it's based on a mistaken premise. Name one other conservative evangelical leader who has a daily TV and satellite radio broadcast with an audience the size of the 700 Club, and who has founded an international array of businesses and nonprofits, founded a university, founded a law school, and founded a national law firm dedicated to overcoming the separation of church and state. Jim Wallis hasn't done any of that. The fact is that Robertson's audience is bigger than that of Bob Schieffer at CBS News, and much larger than that of Jim Wallis.

It's time to take Robertson seriously, to realize that he means exactly what he says, that he dissembles when he's caught, but that he not only marches ahead with his message, but he's a billionaire who has built a vast and loyal following of people who take him seriously.

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