Did Obama Choose Wisely with Pastor Rick Warren?
President-Elect Barack Obama set off a firestorm of controversy on Wednesday when he announced that Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren would deliver the invocation at his inauguration on January 20.
Gay activist groups -- like the Human Rights Campaign -- asked Obama to reconsider, saying: "We feel a deep level of disrespect when one of the architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination."
Others, however, see Obama's move as a symbolic gesture of good faith towards social conservatives, many of whom voted for Sen. John McCain in November.
To get an idea of where Warren stands on same-sex marriage, here is an interview he did on beliefnet. Along with calling for gay people to have "equal rights" under the law, Warren says the definition of "marriage" should not change. Allowing gays to marry would be like a brother and sister marrying, Warren says.
What do you think? Is the selection of Rick Warren a good decision?
Click here to see our debate about Pastor Rick Warren.
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Let's just get rid of all invocations at presidential inaugurals. After all, the "tradition" was first introduced by Franklin Delano Roosevelt at his Second Inaugural in 1937. If George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln and the 31 presidents before FDR could get along without the benefit of an inaugural prayer, so can the 44th.
Disclosure: Yes, I am an atheist, just the same way I'm an a-unicornist. Show me a unicorn and I'll believe in them. Same thing goes for gods.
Ronald Baily, Reason Foundation