The going explanation for Warren's presence on the inauguration podium is that "this aims to be the most open and inclusive inauguration in history," as Linda Douglas, a spokeswoman for the inauguration committee, told Politico. It's a peculiar definition of "open and inclusive." Warren, after all, is the only preacher giving the invocation. He will not share the stage with a rabbi, an imam, a monk, and an episcopalian. And Warren is not being chosen because he himself is open and inclusive. He thinks abortion a "holocaust" and urged his flock to vote for Prop 8. He compared gay marriage to incest and polygamy and pederasty, and when asked if he really thought those things "equivalent to having gays getting married," he replied, "Oh, I do." The tolerance Obama is asking for, in other words, is not from Warren. It's from the LGBT community, and women. He is asking them to be tolerant of Warren's intolerance. It's a cruel play, framed to marginalize the legitimate anger of those who Warren harms and discriminates against. Then there's the Realpolitik explanation. Obama is just assimilating Warren into his "Team of Rivals." Better to have him in the fold than on the warpath. Better to find common ground than admit to division. Adam Serwer elegantly dispatches that thinking.
It's possible to interpret the decision to include Warren and Lowery as another Lincoln "we are not enemies but friends" moment, an attempt to bring the religious right and religious left together. The only problem is the most offended parties, the LGBTQ community and the women Warren equates with Nazis, are not in any symbolic sense present to make the choice to be friends or enemies. Had Obama, say, chosen a gay pastor and forced Warren to make the difficult decision of whether or not to appear, the situation might be a bit different.
This might be a wise political calculation on Obama's part. But it is a cruel thing to ask of his coalition. There's a time to pander to intolerance, and it is called the election. The election is over. January 20th is the inauguration. Pro-choice women and gays were a significant part of Obama's coalition, and they're being forced to accept that the candidate they worked for will use the election they won to elevate a powerful religious leader who works often and publicly against their interests. For them, the day will be darkened. Update: Meanwhile, did you hear who Ahmadinejad chose to deliver his invocation? Now that's crazy.
