Of all people Barack, Rick Warren?

I know a little about Mr. Rick Warren. I know that he is the head of a huge megachurch in Southern California. I know he wrote a best-selling book called The Purpose Driven Life. And I know I read some passages of the book and found them insightful. I also know that he says gays marrying would be akin to siblings marrying or an older man marrying a child.

I know a lot about Barack Obama, too. I know that he ran a campaign based on "change" where every effort would be made to listen and understand the other side. I found this admirable, as I believe that only the wisest and most compassionate of us is able to listen to a contradictory opinion and find the kernel of truth in it. I also know (or thought I knew) that Barack Obama was for the civil rights of gays. He never said he was in favor of gay marriage, but he walked that narrow line in between, stating gays should have all the legal rights as a married couple.

So to pick Warren to speak at his inauguration seems like a suspect move on Obama's part. In one sense I can understand it. He is apparently going to have many viewpoints at his inauguration, and his mantra has always been respect for the other point of view. And today Obama called himself "fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans" and said he will remain so as president.

But I wonder if Obama knows how hurtful this is to homosexuals? To invite Warren, who compares gay marriage to pedophilia, is slap in the face to all of them. It makes the passage of Prop 8 even harder to swallow for gays; at least, if they thought, they now had an ally in the White House. Now it doesn't seem as sure.

In my view, this is Obama's first big mistake because it's the exact opposite of what his election stands for: the progression of civil rights in America. Let's hope the actions of his presidency are far more progressive. Let's hope he becomes the advocate for gay rights that is so needed in positions of power.