Losing battles vs. losing wars

The left has been celebrating a statement by Focus on the Family founder James Dobson in which he conceded that cultural conservatives have lost all of the battles. But that was not a declaration of surrender. From the Washington Post:

The retiring chairman of the conservative Christian group Focus on the Family said during a speech: “We are right now in the midst of the most discouraging period of that long conflict. Humanly speaking, we can say we have lost all these battles.”

Liberal bloggers have crowed about the speech. But Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger said the left-wing blogosphere “spun this story a bit like [Dobson] was Gen. Lee surrendering at Appomattox. In fact, all he was doing was acknowledging that, yes, the conservative movement has taken some hits lately. We’ve lost on some issues. But losing a few battles is not synonymous with losing a war. It’s certainly not.”

Also missed was the qualifier “humanly speaking.”