I agree and I'm baffled by the assertion that Warren is a friend of Obama's considering how he lied to him during the Saddleback forum in a half assed attempt to give McCain an advantage. Did everybody somehow forget about the cone of silence debacle? Rick Warren also lied to California voters claiming that Clergy could be charged with hate crimes if proposition 8 didn't pass. He's also lied about the bible claiming that the biblical standard of marriage has always been one man and one woman which anyone who has so much as tripped over a bible knows is bullshit. He believes Jews will burn in Hell and has no qualms about saying it to their face. (It's buried in the fifth paragraph.) He won't allow unrepentant homosexuals join his congregation. He has decided he is qualified to meddle in the powder keg of Middle Eastern politics by calling for the assasination of the leader of Iran and oddly enough praising Syria as a moderate country during his visit there. (Sorry about the WND link but it's the only site with the audio after Warren tried to scrub it off the internet and deny its existence.) He has also called other churches who offer charitable services without ramming their beliefs down the recipients throats "closeted Marxists". During his interview with NBC he repeated the same vile shit about gays and claimed he wouldn't reconsider his position on homosexuality even if it were proven beyond a doubt that it is not a choice. He also fabricates a story about his (imaginary) gay friends asking him why they shouldn't have multiple partners for the sake of presenting a retarded strawman argument.

Rick Warren is not a moderate as his beliefs and actions are identical to every other right wing evangelical misanthrope shitting up the planet. He is a pathological liar and has no intention of uniting anyone. You are kidding yourselves if you think he isn't going to use his stature to obstruct Obama at every turn for his own personal gain. Obama isn't going to gain brownie points with the Christian right by having Warren at his inauguration (they don't want him there either) and this is not a good time to piss off a large chunk of his own base. Inclusiveness does not mean you have to tolerate intolerance and bigotry. We will not be able to move forward as a country if we legitimize this disgusting bigot by putting him front and center on a day meant to symbolize change and unity. People do a right to be upset by this choice and by the Obama team's dismissive response. He made a mistake and it would be a refreshing change of pace from the last eight years if he would admit it instead of compounding that mistake by ignoring it while it festers.