To Coopt is to Coerce

On its face, Obama's choice of Rick Warren as the religious Master of Ceremonies for his inauguration looks like a disaster move. After all, the Christian Right and its sympathizers have been on the wane in recent years and many on the left are already seething over appointees who weren't on their short list.

Well, people asked for change and they got it. Here's a president-elect who's broken every archetype of who a president is, who they are loyal to, and how their own ideals shape our country's future.

The man's a constitutional lawyer. He views things in terms of rights before he views them according to any other moral framework.

Women should have the right to abortion, but that doesn't make it something good that should happen all the time. Nobody wants that. Everybody wants to reduce the number of abortions. It's just a matter of what policies take priority. It's an issue that can be resolved rationally if everyone takes a deep breath and is willing to compromise a bit.

Gay people should have the same rights under the law as straight people. Call it marriage, or call it a civil agreement. I don't think Obama really cares, at least on the terms of government's role in the institution of marriage. If a church doesn't want to marry you, so be it. Many synagogues wouldn't have married me and my wife, who doesn't share my lineage. But the state doesn't care about lineage.

The choice of Warren is a signal that Obama intends to end the culture wars once and for all. After this, he'll have 4 years to appoint Supreme Court justices and pass policy that allay the fears of many of Warren's mortal enemies. Nobody will remember who spoke at the inauguration beyond emotional memory. Down the road, Rev. Warren's followers may be more likely to think twice about their opinions of the incoming president, and that's the only conceivable impact of that choice.

The choice of Warren signals a few other things.

1. Obama won't exclude those who don't agree with him from the big discussions. How refreshing after so many years of fighting for control.

2. Obama won't be intimidated by the people who put him in office. He's going to be everybody's president, even for people who didn't and would never vote for him.

3. Obama won't fall victim to the old wedge trap. Wedge issues only work if the wedger can force the wedgee into viewing things along the lines of their thinking. It doesn't work if you bring them to your side.

4. Obama won't be swayed by knee-jerk reaction. We won't be divided along the lines of a few emotional issues when there is so much more at stake. Rick Warren and his ilk also do a lot of good in the world. This shouldn't be ignored.

The choice of Warren isn't a signal of weak-kneed compromise. It's the signal of someone who intends to lead everyone, unlike our current president who has marched in lock-step with the program while ignoring opinion or circumstance.

The Right should view this move, and many of Obama's appointees, as a sign that he is serious about bringing them aboard in solving today's problems. They should try to avoid the instant judgment and criticism that's become instinct for everyone with a strong party loyalty, on all sides.

The Left should view this move as a sign that the game's going to be played differently now. It's not going to be another round of "our turn, our program." Even if America is in dire need of many of the programs and views that the Left has to offer, it is not interested in whether this or that particular issue suits the tastes of a small minority.

In some ways, Obama's choices are a rude awakening, but it's better to be awake than polite.