Is Rick Warren the Right Man to Violate the Separation of Church and State?

Barack Obama got some guff this week for nominating a friend of Big Corn to be Agriculture Secretary, but it was nothing compared to the brouhaha that's brewhahaing over his choice of Pastor Rick Warren as Secretary of Invocations.

I'm sorry, I have that wrong. Apparently it's not a cabinet position. It's just the dude who says a prayer at the inauguration.

So why is this something anyone gives a shit about let alone the biggest news story of the week? Oh, it must be because we maybe shouldn't have a prayer at a Presidential inauguration in the first place, right?

No?

Well, this must be why I'm not a well-fed TV pundit, because I can't seem to be able to wrap my big dumb head around this at all. But apparently there are liberals who are flipping out because Obama picked a pro-life, anti-gay guy to give the invocation. Meanwhile, conservatives are flipping out because Warren agreed to give an invocation at the inauguration of a pro-choice, pro-gay President. Amazing.

If only science could create some sort of Ward Churchill/Phyllis Schlafly hybrid beast to give the prayer, perhaps everyone would be happy. Well, everyone except maybe James Madison.

Tags: Barack Obama, Christianity, Inauguration, Rick Warren