Conviction Or Calculation?
What to make of Barack Obama’s selection of Rick Warren to give the invocation at his inauguration? The far left is up in arms because Warren strongly supported Prop 8. To conservatives, on the other hand, Warren is “America’s Pastor” and in the choice Obama seeks, so far successfully, to solidify his position with the average Evangelical. In a word, this is a “Clintonesque” move.
You remember Bill Clinton, he drew a majority of evangelical votes right up until his personal pecadillos left him awash in a large wave of personal immorality. Which also makes Obama’s move here all the more interesting as the Blagojevich scandal opens the curtain on the incredibly corrupt business of politics in Chicago.
Obama is clearly “triangulating” here. Bottom line is this: It will be great to hear Rick Warren pray on inauguration day, make no bones about it. And we can be eternally grateful we will NOT be hearing Jeremiah Wright. But this decision on the part of Obama cannot and should not be used to judge the extent or quality of his faith, or policies. This is political theater and nothing else.
Posted in Doctrinal Obedience, Political Strategy, Proposition 8 | 5 Comments » | 
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CarlH on 18 Dec 2008 at 8:59 am #
Personally, I’m not against some political calculation, particularly if it is a legitimate effort to reach out bring people with diverse positions and political views together in the sense of feeling that they have a voice in the process of government. Whether this particular decision is more than an empty gesture (it could be an easy “give away” with lots of publicity, little real impact), however, remains to be seen.
The outrage from the gay marriage activists reported by Politico yesterday will only make this gesture more attractive to socially conservative people of faith, however.
gfe on 18 Dec 2008 at 9:26 am #
I think it’s more than political theater (although it’s that as well).
From the beginning, Obama campaigned for president on the basis that he would reach out across the political divide. If that doesn’t mean giving conservatives (although Warren is probably better described as a moderate except on certain social issues) a seat at the table, what else can it mean? Time will tell, of course, but I have no reason to doubt Obama’s sincererity in saying that he is willing to talk with those who disagree with him on major issues, and this is one step in showing it. And if that antagonizes some of Obama’s natural allies, it appears he’s willing to live with that.
Scott on 18 Dec 2008 at 11:10 am #
This was, without a doubt, calculation. I entirely oppose this tactic. People should be true to themselves. However, like just about every President of the United States, Obama has already began running for his second term.
As for that Politico story CarlH referenced, it is amazing.
TVHall on 18 Dec 2008 at 9:37 pm #
The unfortunate reality is, Scott, that “The Messiah” is being entirely true to himself in using this tactic. Gov. Huckabee wasn’t the only reptilian charlatan in this campaign.
CarlH on 19 Dec 2008 at 8:32 am #
Based on the statement reported in this Reuters story yesterday, I am afraid I may have been willing to give Obama more benefit of the doubt on this than he deserved, as the selection of Rick Warren seems to be an awful lot of political calculation and not much real reaching out. In a manner that Obama seems very expert in, Obama’s statement yesterday appears very like throwing his invitee under the bus while standing behind his own decision to extend the invitation:
I can’t speak for anyone else, but in my view of what an invocation is all, it is about hardly something around which to evoke “noisy and opinionated” as some magical good point about America.