President-Elect Obama has unfortunately chosen Pastor Rick Warren of the Saddleback Church to give the invocation at the inauguration in January.

Pastor Warren is a rare gem of a human being/Christian. He has compared abortion to the Jewish Holocaust, equated gay marriage to incest and pedophilia, and previously cut a video in support of Proposition 8. See below:

I struggle desperately not to be a one issue voter, but like so many in the LGBT community, I am deeply disappointed by this choice, and at the expense of all the positives I have witnessed in the presidential transition thus far.

In what can only be called a calculated effort to reach across the aisle and placate the religious right, Obama has succeeded only in alienating some of his most fervent supporters, who have remained steadfast despite missing the “Hope Train” when Proposition 8 passed last month. Frankly, my wallet is still aching from all the contributions we made to the Obama campaign as well.

Unfortunately this isn’t the first time Obama has stepped in it. I gave Obama the benefit of the doubt the first time around, but don’t know if I can now. Not since Prop 8.

I’m sure many will argue that Barack Obama personally doesn’t support gay marriage in the first place, but nor does he think it’s appropriate to write discrimination into law. Constitutions enable rights, not redact them.

If it’s any consolation, there are some on the right who aren’t too happy with Pastor Warren either. Let them give him as much grief as we give Obama.

I’m reminded of a line from the Song “Down to Earth” by Peter Gabriel as I write this.

Do you feel you were tricked, by the future you picked?

The answer’s not yes. At least not yet.

Post by ILO on 12/17/08 at 5:33 pm