This is the same Rick Warren who recently said that the relationships of his “many gay friends” are no different from child rape, incest or polygamy… Warren himself has acknowledged that the only difference between himself and Focus On the Family’s James Dobson is just “a matter of tone.”  So given President-elect Obama’s stated commitment to bringing the country together, it’s hard to fathom the reasoning behind choosing such a divisive figure. What’s worse, this decision to include Warren revives memories of the controversy surrounding ex-gay advocate Donnie McClurkin’s partication in a Obama campaign event in South Carolina during the primaries.

I think the choice of Warren is almost certainly designed, in fact, as a unifying move – and it is a signal that Obama has every intention of reaching out to Christianists who have some liberal leanings on poverty, the environment, and heterosexual HIV and AIDS. (Check out the last time Rick Warren reached out to gay people with HIV or AIDS.) I understand where Obama’s coming from, and I don’t think this is an inherently bad idea. Building such a liberal Christianist coalition is something I saw coming, and sadly see no way to avoid.

But not on the backs of gay people, please, Mr president-elect. Wedge politics is wedge politics, whether practised by Clintons, Bushes, or, yes, Obama.