"wide range of viewpoints" including bigotry

Obama's choice of evangelical pastor draws ire

CHICAGO – President-elect Barack Obama is defending his choice of Pastor Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at his inauguration.

The selection brought objections from gay rights advocates who say they're troubled by Warren's support for a California ballot initiative banning gay marriage. It was approved by voters last month.

Obama told reporters in Chicago that America needs to "come together," even when there's disagreement on social issues. He also said it's "no secret" that he's a "fierce advocate for equality" for gays and lesbians — and he said that support will continue.

Obama pointed out that a couple of years ago, he was invited to Warren's church to speak, despite their disagreement on some issues.

The president-elect says a "wide range of viewpoints" will be presented during the inaugural festivities.

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I'm all for free speech and all that, but inviting a known bigot to speak at the inauguration is not really a good idea and certainly not change from the current administration.
This is a major f'k up on Obama's part and something that he is going to have to work hard at overcoming. It would be hard to remove Warren from the event gracefully now, but this will haunt Obama.
There are certain viewpoints that, while protected by our Constitution, should not be encouraged by our president.
This is just another reminder that above all, Obama is just a politician and obviously not overly liberal and we have to monitor him to really make some of the changes that he has promised.

Sad to be disappointed in him before he even takes office...

More:

Gay leaders furious with Obama

Barack Obama’s choice of a prominent evangelical minister to deliver the invocation at his inauguration is a conciliatory gesture toward social conservatives who opposed him in November, but it is drawing fierce challenges from a gay rights movement that – in the wake of a gay marriage ban in California – is looking for a fight.

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The rapid, angry reaction from a range of gay activists comes as the gay rights movement looks for an opportunity to flex its political muscle. Last summer gay groups complained, but were rebuffed by Obama, when an “ex-gay” singer led Obama’s rallies in South Carolina. And many were shocked last month when voters approved the California ban.

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“It’s a huge mistake,” said California gay rights activist Rick Jacobs, who chairs the state’s Courage Campaign. “He’s really the wrong person to lead the president into office.

“Can you imagine if he had a man of God doing the invocation who had deliberately said that Jews are not going to be saved and therefore should be excluded from what’s going on in America? People would be up in arms,” he said.

The editor of the Washington Blade, Kevin Naff, called the choice “Obama’s first big mistake.”

“His presence on the inauguration stand is a slap in the faces of the millions of GLBT voters who so enthusiastically supported him,” Naff wrote, referring to gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgendered people. “This tone-deafness to our concerns must not be tolerated. We have just endured eight years of endless assaults on our dignity and equality from a president beholden to bigoted conservative Christians. The election was supposed to have ended that era. It appears otherwise.”

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“I have many gay friends, I’ve eaten dinner in gay homes. No church has probably done more for people with AIDS than Saddleback Church,” he said in a recent interview with BeliefNet.

In the same interview, he compared the “redefiniton of a marriage” to include gay marriage to legitimizing incest, child abuse, and polygamy.

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This scum compares gay marriage to incest, child abuse and polygamy - can anyone be surprised that he is controversial?

WTH was Obama thinking? Does he really think he's going to win over more bigots than the millions of his fervent supporters that he is offending?

And more from Americablog, who are rightfully pissed...

And even more from Huffington Post...