No surprise that they don't want cameras. The security state lives there. I wonder what your thoughts are on the Rick Warren pick. My initial take is that Obama is genuinely interested in bringing the two poles of this country together and that he realizes that you can disagree with someone without villainizing that person. Then I woke up this morning and wondered if I would feel the same way if Saddleback barred blacks as being less than fully human. In the end, this is one of those terribly difficult and divisive issues facing our nation that we simply have to deal with. We can't deal with these huge problems by hunkering down in our respective camps and lobbing shells over the other guy's (or gal's) wall. I disagree vehemently with a lot of what Rick Warren espouses. Yet I believe him to be a man who has done a lot of good in this country and others and a man who is interested in this country just like I am. So I'm glad he's giving the invocation and I hope that Obama uses the uproar which this has generated to move this conversation forward.

Did you see any indictments for war crimes among the presents lying around under the tree?

Labrachow, the idea that Rick Warren has done "a lot of good in this country" is a myth. He may be avuncular but he is a bigot, no more, no less. Barack Obama had a choice; if he wanted to make a point by selecting a preacher to give the invocation at his inauguration, he could have selected Bishop Gene Robinson. And what a wonderful point that would have made. Instead, Obama decided to endorse a hater; because even if he doesn't endorse all of Warren's views, his selection makes it clear that he endorses Warren. Could Obama have invited David Duke to the inauguration and used the excuse that while he doesn’t endorse anti-Semitism he wanted to reach out to Duke’s supporters? This is what Obama’s “friend” the good Reverend, had to say:

“I’m opposed to having a brother and sister be together and call that marriage. I’m opposed to an older guy marrying a child and calling that a marriage. I’m opposed to one guy having multiple wives and calling that marriage.”

So apparently Barack Obama has no problem endorsing a preacher who compares gay marriage to incest, polygamy and pedophilia.

This decision, along with Barack Obama's deafening silence on California's proposition 8, makes plain just what kind of person Barack Obama is.

If you stand with the bigots (or pray with them) you are a bigot.

No cameras allowed today? What, was one of the white house security guys having a bad day so he banned cameras? This white house has never made any sense from day one because they're in their own little war-world. How many more days of these morons do we have left? Oh yeah, 31. And on the Rick Warren issue, Obama baby you goofed. Couldn't you have seen this avalanche of criticism coming for cryin' out loud? Especially now that the right-wing-nuts in Calif want all those prior same-sex marriages to be voided. How would they like it if someone came along and voided their marriage?

Well It would be easy to make fun of you for not wanting to break
any rules in the White House Steve, but I imagine once they figured
out you are THAT Steve Clemons on Rachel Maddows show, they
would send you to the special Cheney Room for interrogation.
Yikes!
Good thinking.

"If you stand with the bigots (or pray with them) you are a bigot."

Or at least it's giving comfort to a bigot.

Obama definitely made it clear all along that he does not identify with blacks and the struggles of the 60's, and it is unclear if he has suffered racism. However, he certainly allowed the left to continue to make assumptions about him -- perfectly their own responsibility -- based on the color of his skin (more appropraiately "biracial", than "black", some now say).

I don't find many of the comparisons of the Warren invite to inviting other sterotypical bigots totally persuasive. However, bigot-by-association is a reasonable accusation given that the plain reading of the situation ("Plain" readings being a legal notion Obama clearly gets) would be to insult most GLBT's, most on the left, and many moderates, and perhaps others. Obama either ignored that, or chose to embrace it intentionally.

While Obama may seek to position himself as a post-partisan figure, it takes a huge ego and arrogance to do so at the cost of offending those who suffer arguably the most at the hands of partisan cultural bigotry. Wrong mesage, wrong, forum, wrong tactic.

Are shoes allowed?

Tony,

If you get the right ones, they'll let you in all the best places:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=auI050ptHyPg

It'd be ironic, though if everyone had to remove their shoes before entering the White House. It'd be so much for "our way of life": every Swede, hippie and Muslim would feel right at home.

And since the geniuses in the White House, at the Fed-Goldman Sachs and on Wall Street and can't figure out how to stimulate the economy, perhaps we could take our cue from a certain Turkish manufacturer.

It'd certainly inspire global confidence.

This is very nice picture. its very good clarity. decorations are wonderful.
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Muthu

Flat Fee MLS