Congrats Shepard

I love this picture. I can't wait to buy the copy of TIME with this image, but I may just be sold out by the time I get to the newsstands.

In related news, read the accompanying blog post.

I don't know what to say about the whole Rick Warren thing, which is why I haven't said anything. I don't think it's appropriate to have someone who is against gay rights and reproductive rights giving the invocation at the innauguration of a president who will act against that agenda... however, Barack Obama is a very good politician, and while this is pissing off not just the progressives on the left, but also a lot Evangelicals on the right, it's going to represent not that Obama disapproves of gay people, not that he disapproves of abortion and birth control, but that he wants to be friends with people who disagree with him. I think that's what this is about.

One thing that we have learned about Barack during the last two years is that he likes to talk to people who hold different views and understand why they hold those views. Once he has understood why they hold those views, he wants to come to some kind of agreement; maybe they can't agree that abortion is a moral choice, but they can agree that reducing unwanted pregnancy should be a priority; maybe they can't agree that gay people are entitled to civil rights just as anyone (and I truly believe that Obama said that he didn't agree with gay marriage because he had to) but they can come to an agreement that civil rights are important for everyone -- eventually with this line of progressive agreement, you can peacefully get people who had held diametrically oppositional views to come around and realize that while they may have some moral objection to something, their moral code is not what makes the law. I think that's what Obama is trying to begin by having Warren do the invocation.

I would still rather he have a Rabbi do it, and not a crazy one, but that's my preference. I haven't lost any faith in Barack for this choice. He's starting something big and we're not all going to agree with the steps he takes to achieve the ends, but that doesn't mean that he or the steps are wrong.