Obama defends inaugural invitation to Warren
— -- President-elect Barack Obama on Thursday defended his decision to invite evangelical pastor Rick Warren. Obama cited the "magic" of a diverse nation.
The choice of Warren, founder of a Southern California megachurch and best-selling author of The Purpose Driven Life, has riled some gay and lesbian advocates, liberal groups and religious leaders because he opposes gay marriage and abortion rights and has expressed what they say are extreme views on the issues.
At a news conference in Chicago, Obama called himself a "fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans" and said he will remain so as president. But he said it's important for people who disagree on social issues to work together.
"We're not going to agree on every single issue, but what we have to do is be able to create an atmosphere … where we can disagree without being disagreeable and then focus on those things that we hold in common as Americans," Obama said.
He noted that Joseph Lowery, the dean of the civil rights movement and co-founder of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, will deliver the benediction on Jan. 20.
Lowery, who has spoken out in favor of gay clergy, has "deeply contrasting views to Rick Warren on a whole host of issues," Obama said.
Eddie Glaude, a professor of religion and African-American studies at Princeton University, calls Obama's selection of Warren a "sign of how shrewd he is."
By choosing Warren and Lowery as the religious bookends to the inaugural ceremony, "he's reaching across a wide swath of the American religious community," Glaude says.
"During the course of the entire inaugural festivities, there are going to be a wide range of viewpoints that are presented," said Obama, who appeared with Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., at a campaign forum at Warren's Saddleback Church. "And that's how it should be because that's what America is about. That's part of the magic of this country — that we are diverse and noisy and opinionated."
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