Rick Warren To Deliver the Invocation at the Inauguration. Gays Hardest Hit.

Rick Warren's Civil Forum nearly killed the Obama campaign at an early point when Obama stumbled badly in his responses, but all is forgiven as Warren has been asked to give the invocation at the inauguration:

Pro-life pastor Rick Warren will give the invocation at President-Elect Barack Obama’s inauguration. It makes a whole lot of sense. Even though Warren and Obama disagree on the life issue, they do see eye to eye on many social justice issues. This move is also classic Obama because it is a signal to religious conservatives that he’s willing to bring in both sides to the faith discussion in this country. Obama has never shied away from that.

I worry a bit that Warren is being used to buy favor with evangelicals and sort of bury the abortion issue. If he were to ask me (which he won't) I would advise against participating in a political event. I just don't see the benefit to the ministry. We'll see.

Meanwhile, Warren's support for Proposition 8 has the gay community threatening to stamp their feet and hold their breath until they turn blue:

Barack Obama’s choice of a prominent evangelical minister to perform 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.

Rick Warren, the senior pastor of Saddleback Church in southern California, opposes abortion rights but has taken more liberal stances on the government role in fighting poverty, and backed away from other evangelicals’ staunch support for economic conservatism. But it’s his support for the California constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage that drew the most heated criticism from Democrats Wednesday.

“Your invitation to Reverend Rick Warren to deliver the invocation at your inauguration is a genuine blow to LGBT Americans,” the president of Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solomonese, wrote Obama Wednesday. “[W]e feel a deep level of disrespect when one of architects and promoters of an anti-gay agenda is given the prominence and the pulpit of your historic nomination.”

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.

“There is a lot of energy and there’s a lot of anger and I think people are wanting to direct it somewhere,” Solomonese told Politico.

If Obama had wanted to give a royal in-your-face to the gay community, he couldn't have done a better job than picking Warren to speak at the inauguration. Once again a group of voters who thought their votes would buy them some allegiance are being disappointed by the Obamessiah.

There will be a lot of that in the coming months.

UPDATE: Obama Defends Rick Warren Pick