In early 2003, literally just a few weeks before the president would launch a war with Iraq, Bush met with TV preacher Pat Robertson to discuss the conflict. The president reportedly told the televangelist that he believed there’d be minimal casualties, and soon after, began the invasion.

With this background in mind, I was not at all encouraged to see that Bush is now discussing Iran with James Dobson.

“I was invited to go to Washington DC to meet with President Bush in the White House along with 12 or 13 other leaders of the pro-family movement,” Dobson disclosed on his radio program Monday. “And the topic of the discussion that day was Iraq, Iran and international terrorism. And we were together for 90 minutes and it was very enlightening and in some ways disturbing too.” […]

“The world looked at Hitler and just didn’t believe him and tried to appease him the way we’re hearing in Washington today,” Dobson remarked. “You know, the President seems to me does understand this, as I told you from that meeting I had with him the other day, but even there it feels like somebody ought to be standing up and saying, ‘We are being threatened and we are going to meet this with force — whatever’s necessary.’”

First, the fact that Bush is talking about a possible confrontation with Iran at all is discomforting, to put it mildly.

Second, I guess it’s too much to ask, but how about some scrutiny on the White House over the fact that the president is meeting with a nut like Dobson in the first place?