It should be no secret by now that Rick Warren and his Saddleback Church/Box Store represent the most extreme fringe of the Christian Right, despite their efforts to put on a more benign public face on their hateful ministry. Anyone who is familiar with fundamentalist churches in Orange County, CA knows how that game is played.

Barack Obama's decision to invite Warren was just plain horrible. It will give Warren more power and prestige while aiding and abetting his fundraising. Giving such a prominent role to someone who has dedicated a significant part of his life to promoting discrimination and violence against women and queers is irresponsible and dangerous.

Why hasn't Obama taken back the invitation?

For eight years, we have had a Bush regime that has treated the slightest change of policy as weakness. Any admission of a mistake has been taken as a colossal surrender. This old style politics has frozen this administration in the most backward and counterproductive policies.

So far, Obama is following along in the politics of ego over common sense. If Obama can't admit that he was wrong to invite Rick Warren, will he ever be able to admit that he was wrong about anything?