THE PURPOSE-DRIVEN PREACHER.
Sarah Posner reports that "Rick Warren, who just this week equated gay marriage with polygamy and incest, and who thinks that Christians who work for social justice are Marxists, will deliver the invocation at Obama's inauguration." She says she's "speechless."
An argument can be made that Obama is using Warren Warren, after all, is the author of the best selling book of all time, and Obama's demonstrated respect for the preacher might build some level of rapport, or at least openness, with that community. But I doubt it. Rather, the benefits probably flow in the other direction. Warren's legitimacy as a mainstream figure grows. His status as the country's premiere religious leader is cemented. And he keeps telling his flock that the ideas Democrats hold make them Marxists and child murderers and advocates of the slippery slope to legalized incest.
Obama's embrace of Warren might mean Obama's name is left out of the sermon, but will that be true for the next Democrat? Or the next? And so we'll have a situation where the preacher that Obama embraced is working aggressively to convince his flock to vote against Obama's would-be Democratic successors? There's a difference between reaching out to the evangelical community with respect and surrendering to it. Obama could have called on an Episcopalian or a Methodist or any number of more complicated and nuanced religious figures. Giving Warren this sort of political-religious opportunity effectively codifies his position as America's most politically important, and accepted, religious leader. That seems unwise, and unnecessary.
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COMMENTS (82)
I found this news extremely upsetting. It's like a punch in the stomach, like his stand on FISA. It make me very nervous. How could his people make this choice? How could he make it?
Posted by: Hugh | December 17, 2008 5:53 PM
I'm flabbergasted and angry. This is a real betrayal and it does not bode well at all.
Posted by: Miriam | December 17, 2008 5:58 PM
very disappointing. i'm all for outreach, but Warren is one Tinky-Winky reference away from being Pat Robertson.
Posted by: rob! | December 17, 2008 6:03 PM
I'm not sure if this strengthens Warren's position among the right or weakens it. Regardless, I doubt that had any part in the calculation. It is disappointing, and Obama will undoubtedly come to regret giving Warren ideological cover/credibility now for when he inevitably starts to work overtly against him.
Posted by: MAX HATS | December 17, 2008 6:03 PM
Meh.
Posted by: jeebus | December 17, 2008 6:05 PM
No, no, no, let the Kossacks explain it all for you: Obama is smarter, and moving all the pieceto the right is a big brilliant first step. No, no, no, just leave him alone! He's the decider now!
Posted by: Anonymous | December 17, 2008 6:05 PM
I await the wonk essays on how this is tactically a brilliant strategy.
Posted by: christian | December 17, 2008 6:07 PM
Warren, after all, is the author of the best selling book of all time
I'm pretty sure Warren did *not* write the Bible...
Posted by: McKingford | December 17, 2008 6:14 PM
Just as the pundits were getting talking about how the religious right is fragmented, with a section moving in a progressive direction Obama decides to resurrect it by making Rick Warren the next Billy Graham. Thanks Barack, we're all really grateful to you. Yuck.
Posted by: am | December 17, 2008 6:34 PM
Just as the pundits were getting talking about how the religious right is fragmented, with a section moving in a progressive direction Obama decides to resurrect it by making Rick Warren the next Billy Graham.
If anything, an Obama-Warren allegiance would make the religious right more fragmented. If evangelicals were becoming more progressive, this would tend to accelerate that trend (if it has any effect at all).
Also worth noting: Obama increased the Democratic share of the evangelical vote over Kerry, while gays voted for Kerry in greater numbers than they voted for Obama.
Posted by: jeebus | December 17, 2008 6:46 PM
Why should there be an invocation at all? I guess there's no cause to hope that Obama will omi tacking on the non-constitutional "so help me God" to his oath of office either. What a lame bunch of stupid crap.
Posted by: Herschel | December 17, 2008 6:53 PM
"omit" was intended above.
Posted by: Herschel | December 17, 2008 6:57 PM
"Warren, after all, is the author of the best selling book of all time..."
Warren wrote the Bible? You'd think that he'd get to give any invocation he wanted, then.
Posted by: Mac | December 17, 2008 6:59 PM
REv Wright would have been a much better choice....G-d Damn America for voting for Obama!!
And his talk on history like pointing out our bombing of Hiroshima on Dec 7 1941 would be a real wake up to all those idiots who thought that was Pearl Harbor Day.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 17, 2008 7:00 PM
1) I think Obama getting "his name left out of the sermon" is actually a pretty big deal.
2) I don't think the benefits will be solely run in Warren's direction.
3) Warren is already a mainstream- I don't think the inaugural invocation is going to be some magical legitimizing effect.
4) Rick Warren is a complete douchebag.
Posted by: mkd | December 17, 2008 7:01 PM
jeebus, glbt people might have voted for Obama in larger numbers if he hadn't pulled a similar stunt (Donnie McClurken - less famous but just as homophobic) during the campaign.
I'm good with Obama's religiosity but there's no shortage of non-homophobic clerics in the US. I don't know why he chooses to elevate the homo-haters but I really don't like it.
Posted by: Melinda | December 17, 2008 7:06 PM
glbt people might have voted for Obama in larger numbers if he hadn't pulled a similar stunt (Donnie McClurken - less famous but just as homophobic) during the campaign.
That's one explanation. But if I'm not mistaken, Appalachian whites and gays were the only demographics to vote more Republican in 2008 than in 2004. With the former, everyone assumed the answer was: racism. Could this be part of the explanation for the latter as well? I wouldn't have thought so, but after seeing John Avarosis, Dan Savage et al chomping at the bit to blame the passage of Prop 8 on blacks, I have to wonder.
Posted by: jeebus | December 17, 2008 7:17 PM
Being gay isn't a particularly white thing, so I'm not sure. I'm also not familiar with the notion that the percentage of gay people voting Republican went up in 2008; I can think of reasons for it besides racism, notably that McCain isn't seen as particularly homophobic while Bush definitely is.
I'm a lesbian. I held my nose and voted for Obama even though I disagree with him about much (he was probably my 4th or 5th choice of the Dem. candidates in the primaries) but there's no way on earth I'd have voted for either McCain or Bush, myself. Anyway, a lot of us were very put off by the McClurkin thing.
Posted by: Melinda | December 17, 2008 7:28 PM
i approve. this is just the next move in Obama's long-term game plan to break the religious right in two.
please, everyone who is so upset, read Obama's brilliant speech on religion and politics he gave in 2006.
http://obama.senate.gov/speech/060628-call_to_renewal/
Posted by: raft | December 17, 2008 7:42 PM
Has anyone considered that the choice has less to do with politics and more to do with a genuine desire for pastoral guidance? I'm not sure we should assume that all public expressions of faith given by elected leaders should be viewed simply for their politics. The course of the campaign forced him to sever ties with his pastor and has yet to find a new church/pastor. Perhaps Warren is the closest thing he has to a pastor right now? And come on, the campaign showed us that just because you attend a church does not mean that you agree with everything said from the pulpit.
Posted by: drhs | December 17, 2008 7:52 PM
Brilliant move by Barack, just brilliant.
The fact that so many can't see the absolute brilliance of this chess like move just goes to show how secretly racist Obama's critics are.
By splitting the gays away from the Democratic party, he is making it easier to Unite the party behind the Dixicrats using homosexuals as the new negroes. It's perfect!
Millions of black lives will be improved if gays become the new scapegoat for this nation's woes. Brilliant move, just brilliant, only a black Democrat from Chicago could pull off such a maneuver to move the party to the right! The Party has never had anything like this Obama guy before!
I can't wait to see what Obama does next.
Posted by: about time | December 17, 2008 8:02 PM
Raft and drhs, there are plenty of "open and accepting," "affirming," and whatnot churches and there are plenty of clerics who have a religious basis for rejecting the kind of bigotry expressed by both Warren and McClurkin. There's a fundamental question there about how religion informs your view of the world and your view of G-d's people, and for whatever reason Obama's chosen several pastors whose theology tells them to have crappy attitudes towards gay people.
As I mentioned earlier I have no problem whatsoever with Obama being a religious guy. It's not about that.
Posted by: Melinda | December 17, 2008 8:03 PM
Isn't this the idiot who used the bible to justify killing another state leader?
Boner move.
Posted by: Els | December 17, 2008 8:14 PM
christian: "I await the wonk essays on how this is tactically a brilliant strategy."
mock if you want, but it is.
the evangelicals are THE pillar of the conservative moment. cracking that base is the Holy Grail of any progressive agenda. How? By understanding that evangelicals do not march in lockstep with the Republicans: they're cultural but not necessarily economic conservatives. Forget about gay marriage and abortion. But health care, climate change, poverty? We can work with them--co-opt them--get their votes--on those issues. We don't need all of them. Just enough.
Or, we can drive anyone who is pro-life or opposes gay marriage back into the Republican party. And then we can lose even more elections for the sake of your blinkered purity tests. Not exactly the best outcome for gay people... what will really be good for us is a politics where both parties support gay rights and have gay members. Look at what happened to blacks: a major interest group ghettoized into a corner of the political discourse. that's the situation gays need to avoid.
Melinda: "Being gay isn't a particularly white thing"
ROFL. maybe in a "sexual orientation is inborn nahnah" sense, but in the real world--come on. i say this as a non-white gay.
Posted by: raft | December 17, 2008 8:15 PM
The gay extremists are getting the gas cans ready again. Nice way to play in a democracy, flamers.
Posted by: Jack | December 17, 2008 8:16 PM
drhs: don't be naive. sure, Obama is friends with Warren--but why are they friends? You think they bumped into each other by accident?
this is a nakedly political selection.
Posted by: raft | December 17, 2008 8:18 PM
is Warren now the Wright of the Right?
Posted by: Anonymous | December 17, 2008 8:19 PM
With the former, everyone assumed the answer was: racism. Could this be part of the explanation for the latter as well?
Just a hunch, but I think the tepidness in the gay community for Obama flowed from this community's affinity for Hillary Clinton, and therefore represented blowback and hurt feelings.
Posted by: Jasper | December 17, 2008 8:26 PM
Just a hunch, but I think the tepidness in the gay community for Obama flowed from this community's affinity for Hillary Clinton, and therefore represented blowback and hurt feelings.
McClurkin didn't help. This is just the other bookend. Booing Warren will still be better than eggs on Bush's car, though, I think.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 17, 2008 8:35 PM
This was the last thing I read about Rick Warren and the last straw for me to accept him as a relevant figure. I trust Stephen Suh more than him. Warren is in fact a douchebag. Seriously, Obama, its not like there aren't thousands of religious leaders in this country, some of which I'm sure are just a bit more passionate about social justice and hold less controversial views.
Posted by: Adrock | December 17, 2008 8:44 PM
Ezra's silly little blog posting, and most of these comments, are ridiculous. Go re-read the supposedly awful Marxism quote. If you know anything about what he's saying, it is that Christianity is more than helping poor people and improving social structures. These things, though, are essential and critical (faith without works is dead). But his point is in no way suggesting that Christians that want to help others are Marxist.
Posted by: Raisuli | December 17, 2008 8:45 PM
Ezra, please revisit your months of solid bullshit during the primary season and see if you shouldn't stick your own foot in your mouth. Are you still oh so disappointed in Krugman's attacks on Obama? Krugman was 100% right in calling out Obama's weak acceptance of the distinctly Republican definition of "bipartisan." You get what you deserve.
Posted by: KK | December 17, 2008 8:55 PM
Evangelicals are not going to flock to Obama because of this move. Raft says forget gay marriage and abortion. Sorry you can't do that. A large majority of them are nearly single issue voters, primarily on the issue of abortion. Thinking he will make long lasting inroads with evangelicals just because of this is like saying Bush/Cheney should get most of the gay vote because cheney's daughter is a lesbian. Evangelicals know where Obama stands they think he's going to hell.
Posted by: jenga | December 17, 2008 9:02 PM
raft, "naive"? I don't think so. What I meant was to try to propose a different angle into the conversation. You can't just look at it as a political decision - politics is certainly part of what Obama is doing but does not tell the whole story.
I've read the Call to Renewal speech - a must read! - and I get more of a complicated approach to faith/religion in the public discourse, less of the "break the religious right in two" bit, a breath of fresh air after 8 years of political abuse of religion.
Posted by: drhs | December 17, 2008 9:02 PM
Wait a minute. Is the complaint about Warren that he is opposed to gay marriage? Because so is Obama.
Posted by: jeebus | December 17, 2008 9:43 PM
I think we should withhold criticism of Obama until we are well past the 2010 election cycle. All this criticism of Obama is unwarranted until he has at least completed his first administration is on his second inaugural.
Please people, we must follow what Obama says knowing that he is thinking twenty moves ahead of us. We in the presence of greatness, I think we all need to be a little careful with our criticism.
Posted by: about time | December 17, 2008 9:56 PM
"And he keeps telling his flock that the ideas Democrats hold make them Marxists and child murderers and advocates of the slippery slope to legalized incest."
I would prefer that obama choose someone else, but by by agreeing to be associated with Obama, Warrren is explicitly or implicitly sending the message to his flock that Democratic views are not inconsistent with their values.
Posted by: Rich | December 17, 2008 9:58 PM
Jeebus: Warren, unlike Obama, was in favor of Prop 8, and unlike Obama urged his entire spiritual community to vote for it. Warren is a leading opponent of gay marriage, not just a wishy-washy non-proponent like Obama is.
Posted by: tomemos | December 17, 2008 10:05 PM
Obama's decisions are often infuriating, but he always tends to come out on top.
Can we agree that the election of Obama has given us the most pro-gay-rights president we have ever seen?
Posted by: Tyro | December 17, 2008 10:07 PM
Meh. When you think about it, gay marriage and religion are both pretty goofy ideas.
But if you got to have a Bible-thumper, get at least a quasi-lunatic and not some washed-out Episcopalian.
Posted by: Bowsma | December 17, 2008 10:19 PM
Way to be Tyro! Obama's work is unmatched in the Democratic party history.
Besides, homosexuals won't vote Republican no matter what Obama says or does, so who cares what they think. Obama should ignore the gays and concentrate on getting black men to the polls, these guys normally won't Democratic because they don't want to be associated with gays. This move sends a signal that Democrats have had it with gays and their constant whining for equal rights.
By shifting the Democratic party rightward to be within millimeters of the Republicans, the media will finally support Democrats and a lot of young Turks will be able to get good government jobs. It's about time that young, hip folks, who have worked so hard for Obama the last year get what they earned.
Enough of these 40+ folks, it's time for them to shut up and move over.
Posted by: about time | December 17, 2008 10:31 PM
I think it is "about time" for somebody to take their meds.
Posted by: jeebus | December 17, 2008 10:43 PM
Generally I try to be understanding of these sorts of political minor decisions, but America is chock full of progressive religious leaders who are considerably more deserving of attention than Rick Warren. Isn't it past time for us to stop coddling to the evangelical/fundamentalists? This is an especially odd decision in light of the magnitude of Obama's victory.
Posted by: Aristides | December 17, 2008 11:46 PM
Did it occur to anyone that it wasn't Obama or his team that invited Warren?
It was Congress, through the Joint Committee that plans the Inauguration.
Do a bit of research. Please.
Posted by: JB | December 18, 2008 12:17 AM
John Aravosis (DC) ·points out that Obama and Warren were on the same side of prop 8 [see below]. At least that shows that this isn't an accident, Obama really is anti-gay. Well...props for consistency from Obama.
"Hey, Rick Warren actually did an ad for the Prop 8...and he invokes Barack Obama as being on his side, in the ad.
Nice.
If you watch the video, in addition to invoking Obama's name to justify homophobia, Warren talks about how (he claims) gays are only 2% of the population. And how we shouldn't let 2% of the population decide what we do on this issue. Gee, wonder how he feels about Jews, who are also 2% of the population." - John Aravosis · 12/17/2008
http://www.americablog.com/
Posted by: S Brennan | December 18, 2008 12:21 AM
Having Rev Rick Warren give the invocation is going to do nothing to capture the "evangelical" vote for Democrats. I happen to disagree with a lot of what Evangelicals believe, but pandering to them without addressing their actual issues (abortion, gay rights, and school prayer) is pretty useless. As a result you have one group who see it as a cheap political stunt (so says my evangelical parents) and one group who fears that even though the occupant in the White House has changed, we still don't warrant a seat at the table. I fully agree with Ezra's post, it's how I feel.
Posted by: Nathan H. | December 18, 2008 1:06 AM
Nice job! Thanks for your information.
Posted by: WOW gold | December 18, 2008 1:14 AM
Obama supports civil unions and the repeal of DOMA. From what I can tell, Warren does not support those things. This was a dumb move on Obama's part. As others have written, it makes him look weak- he gains nothing from evangelicals and pisses off large part of his base for something that essentially symbolic, and will send the wrong message all around. Just plain dumb. He was a masterful campaigner, but so far his management of leaks from his transition teams and various other issues including now Warren are starting to concern me. The concern is over understanding that he's no longer campaigning. He's governing. Everything he does is now under more a microscope than ever before. Whether he endorsed Warren or not- it now gives the Christian right license to use his support of Warren.
Posted by: godplay | December 18, 2008 1:45 AM
we've got a heck of a big tent going now.
i used to think that barack was like the Messiah, but now he is looking more like Noah.
two of everything heading into the ark before the flood!
Posted by: jacqueline | December 18, 2008 2:10 AM
dean snyder was one of the lone, vocal religious leaders who stepped forth courageously to defend barack obama and jeremiah wright during those lonely weeks when the jackals were all about.
he was a religious leader who was seeking no self-aggrandizing popularity or celebrity for himself, his books or his congregation in speaking out, risked real unpopularity and showed the true face of christian principles and courage in his actions at the time.
this would have been a special and fitting honor to bestow on dean snyder for his lone and courageous voice at the time.
Posted by: jacqueline | December 18, 2008 2:35 AM
An argument can be made, I guess, that Obama is using Warren to reach his flock. Warren, after all, is the author of the best selling book of all time, and Obama's demonstrated respect for the preacher might build some level of rapport, or at least openness, with that community.
It could also be that Obama is attempting to demonstrate that he can associate with someone whose political beliefs he disagrees with.
I hope that one of the long term effects of the Obama presidency is separating the political from the personal.
Warren is a prominent figure in his community, and I find it entirely plausible that Obama appreciates him as a person and American even if they have different political beliefs.
Posted by: TW Andrews | December 18, 2008 3:12 AM
JB: please, as if Obama doesn't have veto power over who gives the invocation at his own inauguration.
if he really wanted Warren gone, the fat little weasel would be be gone. but since he doesn't--for the reasons i outlined above--warren remains.
Posted by: raft | December 18, 2008 4:15 AM
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Posted by: G | December 18, 2008 5:02 AM
Progs, why don't you give up your hypocritical obsessions with "diversity" and "inclusion" and and "otherness"? We've got a heaping helping of your commitment to those beliefs above me here. Or at least admit openly what the right and much of the middle has long since known--"diversity" means tolerance of everybody on the left, nobody in the right, nobody in the middle, nobody who's too obviously white or American or heterosexual or male or less than hard left.
Posted by: Benny V. | December 18, 2008 5:33 AM
A dingbat like Sarah Palin will always trump any "gains" Obama could get from having Warren deliver an invocation or other suckup gestures toward inclusion of the fundie loons.
If this is what Obama thinks is being "smart," I want to say just this one thing to him:
Once they think they've claimed the moral high ground, Barry, you can't do business with them. I thought you were smarter than this.
Posted by: Hai | December 18, 2008 6:47 AM
By shifting the Democratic party rightward to be within millimeters of the Republicans
Here's the thing-- when it comes to gay issues, Barack Obama is the most leftward president we've ever had.
The previous Democratic president, it should be noted, signed the DOMA, campaigned on that support, and then suggested to John Kerry that a good strategy would be coming out in favor of Bush's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.
-"diversity" means tolerance of ... nobody who's too obviously white
And yet, not too long ago, we on the left were accused of being nothing but a bunch of effetes straight out of a post from "Stuff White People Like." And here I thought that had meant we were making progress as being more appealing to American whites.
Posted by: Anonymous | December 18, 2008 8:04 AM
Just further demonstrates that despite Obama's many strengths, the area he really needs to keep working on is his choice of Christian pastors. Oh well, as Joe. E. Brown said to Jack Lemmon at the end of Some Like It Hot, "Nobody's perfect."
Posted by: PureGuesswork | December 18, 2008 8:04 AM
We had a new administration seemingly seeking to bring rationality, reason, and expertise back to governance.
Why gratuitously throw in this flim-flam religiosity? No one need the evangelicals anymore; throw them from the bus.
Posted by: bob h | December 18, 2008 8:18 AM
JMO: But this is all about the Obama is a muslim meme. If Rick Warren is standing there giving his invocation; it's a harder sell to make. Having BEEN the president, it's a harder attack to make. This is, IMO, about taking that muslim socialist communist homosexual meme out of the playbook for 2012 and muting it over the next four years.
It hurts advancement of gay rights and it hurts the advancement of feminist rights: but it's not about civil rights. It's about Obama becoming a Clinton level boogeyman rather than the terrorist-president.
It sucks. But I get why he did it.
Posted by: Rhoda | December 18, 2008 8:51 AM
I'm 98% on board with the "This stinks to high heaven" reaction to Obama's choice of Warren. The other 2% of me wonders if this is a political choice w/r/t to one specific issue: climate change. Others above have pointed out that Warren--for all his disgusting efforts to oppress women and homosexuals--also has been an open advocate in support of addressing issues of poverty and such. The other issue usually associated with the left that Warren has taken on with some seriousness is environmentalism. Warren is one of the leading supporters of the Evangelical Climate Initiative and has been outspoken in recent years in support of curbing greenhouse gas emissions. So that 2% of me wonders if Obama has climate change policy in mind, in particular, hoping that this bit of public massaging of Warren might lead Warren to support Obama's efforts to get a cap-and-trade law passed. Pure speculation on my part. Mostly: retch.
Posted by: Jonathan | December 18, 2008 8:54 AM
I follow politics pretty closely, and I have no idea who has given the invocation or benediction or whatever at past inaugurals. I'm fairly certain, however, that such persons have not been acclaimed the country's religious leader as a result of their giving a 2 minute prayer on a cold January morning.
I don't like Rick Warren any better than the rest of you, but this is a trivial honor. It will not be remembered as Rick Warren's ascension to Pope of America. It wouldn't have been remembered at all, probably, except that y'all made a ruckus about it.
Posted by: southpaw | December 18, 2008 9:19 AM
Did it occur to anyone that it wasn't Obama or his team that invited Warren?
It was Congress, through the Joint Committee that plans the Inauguration.
Do a bit of research. Please.
JB, when you attempt to pass yourself off as smarter than all of the other rubes here, it pays to follow your own advice:
This wasn't a committee that inadvertently put a fundie on board, the announcement says: "The program participants were based on requests from the Presidential-elect and the Vice President-elect."
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8652
I'm sorry to disappoint you, but the completely obviously conclusion that Obama and his team control who does what at the inauguration ceremony is, sadly, true.
Posted by: Aristides | December 18, 2008 9:23 AM
Thanks to disappearing HTML tags, my comment above is nonsensical. This is the part I quoted from JB:
Did it occur to anyone that it wasn't Obama or his team that invited Warren?
It was Congress, through the Joint Committee that plans the Inauguration.
Do a bit of research. Please.
Posted by: Aristides | December 18, 2008 9:26 AM
southpaw, I'm pretty sure the only way that makes sense is to extract it from its context. There are tradeoffs here that I'm pretty sure have been examined - this is not a sloppy, gaffe-prone outfit. I do not think that they'd have invited a Holocaust denier or someone openly anti-semitic and then issued a statement that they disagree with him about Jews but they want to build bridges to the evangelical community. I do not think they'd have invited a white supremacist and issued a statement saying that they disagreed with him about race but they want to build bridges to the evangelical community.
They've been through this before with McClurkin, and somebody inside the Obama operation decided that it's okay to give a known homophobe a prominent role in the proceedings (and we do know that Obama cares about religion quite a bit, right?) if it might bring in more evangelicals.
I'm all for building bridges where appropriate but I think it's important to take a principled stand against bigotry. And in terms of actual bridge-building this strikes me as having more in common with the GOP sticking Lynn Swann up on stage in hopes of attracting black voters. If your policies aren't doing the trick, tokenism probably won't either.
Posted by: Melinda | December 18, 2008 9:35 AM
Obama legitimizing this jack-booted Christianist thug is just the first of the many disappointments I'm sure I'll be seeing in the next 4 years.
This bigoted chub offers the same hate and intolerance we've come to know and love so well over the last couple of decades. Obama's attempt to elevate this excrescence on the body of religion to the position of Billy Graham redux is just appalling.
Posted by: nomemata | December 18, 2008 9:36 AM
The far left needs to chill. Obama is doing what we cheered him for at the 2004 convention. He is demonstrating that we can have series differences of opinion and still be cordial to each other. And I may be mistaken, but I thought Rick Warren was someone who is serious about reducing poverty. Some of Rick Warren's views are abominable, but he's not a liar. He's not evil. He is sincere about what he believes and he has strong convictions. Also, if I'm not mistaken, Rick Warren invited Obama to speak to his church.
I think it's an attempt to heal partisan wounds. And some of you on the far left seem determined to pour salt in those wounds.
Phylo out.
Posted by: Phylo Se Fiser | December 18, 2008 10:00 AM
I'm pretty sure he's just saying a prayer, not taking over a cabinet department. This is just not something to get the vapors over.
Obama and Warren are friends. Obama doesn't currently have a pastor (remember?) so he invited his friend. That's what it means and that's all that it means. It isn't a message, nor an embrace, nor a legitimization, nor even an elevation to sainthood. Indeed, anyone who knows anything about evangelicals should realize that this makes Warren less legitimate in their eyes.
This whole campaign against Warren smacks of ideological purity. That is wrong when practiced by the left too. People should count the number of Warrens who will actually be in the government actually doing, you know, governing, and STFU about it.
Posted by: Paul Camp | December 18, 2008 10:06 AM
http://change.gov/page/content/contact/
let them know what you think about it.
Posted by: sdg | December 18, 2008 10:22 AM
Some of you seem intent on insisting that using Warren for the invocation is somehow apolitical. Here's a little hint: once you're the President (or even a presidential candidate), everything you do in public is political.
"I think it's an attempt to heal partisan wounds. And some of you on the far left seem determined to pour salt in those wounds."
Sorry, some of us didn't get the memo that the gay rights movement is over. We were distracted by losing a fight against discrimination here in California--a fight in which Warren was on the other side, and which Obama wouldn't touch with a ten-foot pole. But I'll pass along the word that it's just partisan bickering to care about that.
"Obama and Warren are friends. Obama doesn't currently have a pastor (remember?) so he invited his friend."
That's sweet. His friend should certainly get a ticket to the inauguration. He shouldn't necessarily be put forward as the religious face of the entire inauguration if his religious views involve discrimination against a minority group.
"This whole campaign against Warren smacks of ideological purity. That is wrong when practiced by the left too."
Isn't it great that the best chances to show that you're not ideologically pure also let you disassociate yourself from the most controversial sector of your base? I mean, it's just so convenient!
Posted by: tomemos | December 18, 2008 10:50 AM
Obama could have called on an Episcopalian or a Methodist or any number of more complicated and nuanced religious figures.
You mean more (theologically) liberal. If we're trying to ratchet down the culture war a bit, then implying that the other guys are simpletons is not particularly helpful. Not that I assume most people on the left want to ratchet it down--but Obama's been clear all along that HE does.
Anyway, he did call on a more liberal Protestant--for the benediction. People of faith are politically divided in this country, and the inauguration is going to give both sides representation. I don't like Warren, but it's hard to fault Obama for doing something that's right in line with the kind of stuff he constantly talked about during the election he won.
Warren's a solid social conservative, but (relatively speaking!) not a raging culture warrior. He has an enormous following. His primary interests and motivations are nonpolitical.
In other words, he's a lot like Billy Graham, who's been pretty cozy with every president since Eisenhower.
Why is this so much more controversial?
Posted by: Steve Thorngate | December 18, 2008 12:13 PM
I think Obama has already shown his reach-out to the Right.
How about to the Left now?
Posted by: Christian | December 18, 2008 1:23 PM
@Steve Thorngate,
I would disagree that Warren is like Graham in this sense. Graham was an evangelist whose message tended to stay the same and he did not take up causes (I think he was on the sidelines in the civil rights movement of the 60's). Warren takes up causes and wants to be the spokesman for them. He will be tempted by the dark side soon.
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