A purpose-driven choice
James Forsyth 5:41pm
The choice of Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor, to deliver a prayer at Obama’s inauguration has caused a predictable storm. Gay rights groups are angered by the choice given Warren’s position on Proposition Eight. Hard-line evangelicals are annoyed that Warren is lending his presence to the inauguration of a strongly pro-choice president.
Obama must have known this would happen. Indeed, one suspects he wanted it to happen. It helps portray Obama as reaching out beyind his core support and aids him in his effort to woo the evangelical vote, an effort that would have featured much more prominently during the ’08 campaign if it had not been for Reverend Wright.
There has never been much audacity about Obama’s approach to gay rights. The pick of Warren suggest he isn’t planning on expending much capital on the issue now that he is in the White House. Obama is, far more than most people appreciate, a cautious politician.
Conservative Cabbie
December 19th, 2008 8:59am Report this commentAnother interesting move by Obama, one that I congratulate him on, if for no other reason than to witness Andrew Sullivan implode at the betrayal of his Messiah. Very amusing.
More seriously and more cynically, I wonder if this is an attempt by Obama to deflect potential criticism when he signs the Freedom of Choice Act, which allows for unrestricted pre-viability abortion something he's promised to do.
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