Is it a classic case of forgive and forget? This week Obama called on gay Episcopal bishop, Gene Robinson, to deliver the invocation at the ceremonial kick-off to Inauguration Week at the Lincoln Memorial. Has this addition to the inaugural lineup offset Obama's pick of evangelical celebrity Rick Warren, outspoken opponent of gay marriage and a woman’s right to choose, chosen to deliver the invocation at the 56th President’s swearing in ceremony?
To talk about whether Obama has fixed his Rick Warren problem are Jane Hamsher, Faye Wattleton, Kenyon Farrow, and Eleanor Smeal.
Why Robinson is too little, too late.
Nancy Goldstein at Salon writes:
In short, enough lipstick is being applied to this pig to empty MAC cosmetics’ shelves. Yes, it’s nice that Robinson will headline an ancillary inaugural event. But it took literally 27 days of outright uproar on queer and progressive blogs for Team Obama to issue the invitation. The turning point appears to have come only when Obama apologists like Melissa Etheridge failed to quell the storm (by relaying her story of the really nice hug Warren gave her), while Frank Rich gained the ear of straight America with an unflattering, spot-on New York Times column.
There’s already plenty of evidence that Obama already knows better than to consider inclusiveness a “one from column A, one from column B” proposition. For all of Obama’s talk in a press conference the day after the Warren announcement about how important it is “for America to come together even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues,” John Aravosis of Americablog was quick to note that he doesn’t call for people of color to sit down at the table with openly declared racists. The same goes for women and Jews, I would add. You won’t see Obama inviting Ann Coulter to headline a key event, then “balancing” her with an invite to Patricia J. Williams. Ditto for Holocaust denier David Irving and Elie Weisel, or David Duke and Henry Louis Gates.
By GRITtv on January 14th, 2009 at 10:44 am
Good God, Bad God
Richard Kim at The Nation:
I understand the left’s sense of betrayal, but this reaction to Obama’s choice is off the mark. It’s a sign of how much we have conceded to the religious right that almost nobody asked why there should be an invocation at all.
By GRITtv on January 14th, 2009 at 11:06 am
Hola
By Jane Hamsher on January 14th, 2009 at 12:08 pm
There is a difference between being inclusive of all belief systems and tolerating and accepting intolerance. If BO had picked another bible thumping evangelist who did not actively exclude and heap judgement upon others outside their own belief system, that would have offered a better message.
However, maybe BO’s intended message is different and I’m just not getting it.
By dosido on January 14th, 2009 at 12:11 pm
WE’LL BE BACK AT 1 PM WITH A REVIEW OF THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION’S ENVIRONMENTAL LEGACY.
By GRITtv on January 14th, 2009 at 12:31 pm
What Kenyon said about the AIDS coordinator makes me sick. Sure enough. From RHRealityCheck.org:
“President-Elect Obama’s transition team has asked Ambassador Mark Dybul to remain in place as Global AIDS Coordinator, despite strong opposition by treatment access, HIV prevention, and women’s rights advocates across the global HIV and AIDS community.”
By Laura Flanders on January 14th, 2009 at 12:39 pm
What’s laughable about this whole issue is that Obama is claiming that his invitation to Rev. Robinson was extended weeks ago, even before his invitation to Rick Warren. Are we really supposed to believe that, during the time when he has been roasted by one of his most loyal constituent groups, he just sat on the secret that might have ameliorated the issue. I suppose that he thinks homosexuals are not just unimportant, but they are stupid as well.
By Selkirk on January 14th, 2009 at 1:36 pm
JB Chilton at The Lead has put together a very good array of the many faces of Rick Warren — friendly, bigoted, helpful and vicious. The guy is really quite an operator. The tubes make it hard for this kind of “all things to all people” act to slide by.
By janinsanfran on January 14th, 2009 at 5:22 pm