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  The Personal and the Political

  Posted Friday, December 19, 2008 12:26 PM | By Rachael Larimore
  Dahlia, you ask if there's a difference between Obama's choice of a "personal spiritual adviser" and the public and political act of picking Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation. I agree there's a difference, but probably not in a way that you will like.

  If Obama had attended a quiet, out-of-the-way church that focused on helping its congregants achieve spiritual growth, one where the kindly old minister made house calls to the elderly and infirm, sure, it would be unkind to compare that person to Rick Warren. But if Obama had attended that kind of church, we wouldn't be having this conversation. Instead, he attended a church whose preacher sought out the spotlight and sold DVDs of sermons in which he preached anti-American views. And Obama had a 20-year relationship with that church. Isn't that lengthy commitment, however personal, more telling than a brief and symbolic political act?

  Let's frame this another way: If the Republicans had nominated a candidate who attended Rick Warren's church for 20 years, would it have been fair to question that person's choice of spiritual adviser? (Heck, I'd have questioned it.)

  Filed under: Barack Obama, inauguration, Rick Warren, Rev. Jeremiah Wright

About Rachael Larimore

• Rachael Larimore is Slate's copy chief.

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