Yes, we can.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

Originally Posted by Ghoulish Delight

1) Start out? Rick Warren didn't just appear. He's been preaching his hate for years, has built an empire on it, and has shown no capacity to listen to reason.

Sigh. I wasn't referring to Warren in that statement. I was talking about insulting the very people we are trying to reach, with signs that are insulting and demeaning to followers of Christianity. I don't think Rick Warren has the capacity to listen to reason either, but I do think there are many of his followers that do. But the more you attack the man they follow, the less likely they are to listen to reason - even if he is totally wrong, and he is.

2) For the zillionth time, this isn't about completely ignoring Warren and never speaking to him and never including him in the conversation. It's about the choice to honor him.

So let me ask you the same question I asked above then. Does Obama truly strike you as someone who makes decisions without considerable forethought? And if he does, as he has stated many, many times, believe in gay rights, why on earth do you think he would do this? Don't you think the possibility exists that there is more here than meets the eye? Or do you have such little regard for him that you think he is just flailing around blindly here, and completely disregarding those that he says he supports? I refuse to believe that.

And if this is such a grand and meaningful honor, can you tell me (without looking it up) who the last three pastors were to give inaugural invocations? In my opinion, this is nothing but a token gesture that, in and of itself, is relatively meaningless. And had Warren not been given all of this wonderful press exposure leading up to this day, I suspect it wouldn't have been very long before everyone forgot who gave this particular invocation either. Doesn't sound like much of a meaningful honor to me.

[Strangler Lewis]

Originally Posted by Motorboat Cruiser

So let me ask you the same question I asked above then. Does Obama truly strike you as someone who makes decisions without considerable forethought?

To throw in something new, I don't think this is a helpful viewpoint from which to analyze Obama's decisions. He is not God or Deep Blue or some super rabbi. Over his presidency, he will have to make too many decisions for any one person, most with the advice of other voices that will probably conflict. I don't think we can rule out that he may fail to give something sufficient thought or, alternatively, that he may overthink something and come out looking too clever by half.

He did after all, nominate an Attorney General who was heavily involved or, more accurately, insufficiently involved, in the Clinton decision to pardon Marc Rich. We'll certainly hear more about that in the confirmation hearings.