For Obama, picking an anti-gay pastor
to deliver the nation's prayer at his inauguration may result in a
net gain of political capital.
While the pro-gay left media has been
busy pointing out the inconsistencies of choosing Saddleback
megachurch leader Rev. Rick Warren – he likened gay marriage to
polygamy and an incestuous relationship, while Obama says he is a
“fierce advocate of equality for gay and lesbian Americans” –
social conservatives, particularly the evangelical left, has been
heaping praise on Obama – effectively canceling out any loss of
political capital he may have otherwise suffered.
Even progressives are ready to move on.
In an eloquent enough 1500-plus word essay, New York Times
columnist Frank Rich calls the capital spent on Warren “small
change.”
But the outrage at selecting Rev. Rick
Warren – openly gay Congressman Barney Frank said he was
“disappointed”, while openly lesbian MSNBC commentator Rachel
Maddow called him “the wrong choice” – is being outweighed by
the praise he has received from evangelicals.
The choice seems to have particularly
delighted three social conservatives – Franklin Graham, Tony
Perkins and William Kristol – who now join Rick Warren, Pat
Robertson, Douglas Kmiec and Richard Cizik in their praise of Obama.
All seven men continue to denounce
abortion rights and gay unions – several called grassroots protests
against California's gay marriage ban “mob intimidation” – but
appear to be moving steadily left on issues such as poverty, AIDS and
the environment. Some have even lowered the heat when speaking about
abortion.
Rev. Franklin Graham, president and CEO
of Samaritan's Purse and the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association,
told Christianity Today: “Barack Obama has shown he's going
to reach across these boundaries. He is including evangelicals at
this inauguration, but I don't know if he'll include them in his
administration. Time will tell. But Rick Warren will have Obama's
ear on important issues.”
Tony Perkins, president of the über
conservative Family Research Council, posted these thoughts about
Warren on his website: “I'm heartened by this choice of one of
America's leading evangelical pastors who is pro-life and
pro-marriage for this honor. It was magnanimous of Obama ...”
And conservative Weekly Standard
editor William Kristol appears tickled pink by the decision. Writing
in the New York Times, he said: “I also have to admit that
I look forward to Obama's inauguration with a surprising degree of
hope and good cheer. For one thing, there will be the invocation,
delivered by Rick Warren. I suspect he'll be careful to say nothing
pro-life or pro-traditional marriage – but we conservatives have
already gotten more than enough pleasure from the hysterical reaction
to his selection by the tribunes of the intolerant left. And having
Warren there will, in fact, be a welcome reminder of the strides the
evangelical movement and religious conservatives (broadly speaking)
have made in recent decades.”
After winning an election that clearly
divided Americans on social issues, and where Democrats made
significant inroads into previously Republican strongholds, it
appears the leader of the Democratic Party, President-elect Barack
Obama, is willing to sacrifice gay rights to gain the favor of
evangelicals. An altogether predictable result considering nearly
half of the nation would categorize themselves as very religious.
Favoring a homophobic pastor to such an
honorable position and gaining political traction from that misstep
can only spell trouble for gay rights activists who had viewed the
election of Obama as the silver lining of an otherwise somber
Election Day.