Don't forget in addition to Warren, Obama has chosen Joseph Lowery to give the benediction...

[S_E_Fudd]

By bracketing the ceremony with what could be argued as representatives of the most conservative and most liberal religious traditions in the US, Obama is signaling that he will not allow profound disagreement on issues keep him from doing what is in the best interests of the whole country.

Now I am not equating Lowery and Warren in terms of their ethical standing. I believe Warren is a homophobe and sexist. Lowery is a national hero..

But the fact of the matter is Warren is the religious voice for millions of Americans...and as much as we would want them to they are not going away. The only way to make progress is to engage them in some way.

Just as Obama was wrongly criticized for wanting to engage with foreign leaders who in many cases were directly responsible for the murder and torture of their own citizens, as well as the support of terrorists, he is now being wrongly criticized for wishing to engage with religious conservatives in this country.