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UPDATE: Here are HBO's and the Presidential Inaugural Committee's explanations today for what happened regarding the omission of openly gay New Hampshire Episcopal Bishop Gene Robinson from the "We Are One" Obama Inaugural Concert shown by the pay channel at the Lincoln Memorial Sunday:
HBO Statement: The PIC (Presidential Inaugural Committee) made a mistake and have reached out to the Reverend to apologize. They also issued this statement today:
“We had always intended and planned for Rt. Rev. Robinson’s invocation to be included in the televised portion of yesterday’s program. We regret the error in executing this plan – but are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event.” -- per PIC communications director Josh Earnest
HBO was not involved in any discussion regarding whether or not the invocation would be part of the concert. We licensed the rights to show the event, going live at 2:30pm (ET) and carrying everything unedited until close to 4:30pm. Rev Robinson spoke at 2:20pm which was part of a pre-show. It is ironic that he wasn't in our telecast as the whole show conveyed a message of unity and inclusion. He would have fit in perfectly.
HBO opened its signal for this telecast, allowing its cable operators, backyard dish distributors and telecos to provide it to all their cable subscribers free of charge. This allowed for a potential audience triple HBO's 29 million sub base. It was also streamed on HBO'com with the audio on NPR.
HBO decided today to add his invocation into the repeats of the concert on the network and will stream it on HBO.com. Also, i'm told the PIV will show his invocation tomorrow on the jumbotron screens at the inaugration. I also know that the PIC has talked about putting it up on their Youtube website.
It was a beautifully elegant invocation that really should be heard and seen by all.
Previous: HBO is receiving considerable heart for not airing the opening prayer from well-known Reverend Gene Robinson at that big Lincoln Memorial "We Are One" concert coverage it was providing and sponsoring. 
Robinson gave his invocation at 2:25 PM, but the cameras didn't start rolling at 2:30 PM. Ironic isn't it that the concert was intended to celebrate the inauguration of Barack Obama with a spirit of unity. The question is whether the omission is related to the fact that Robinson is the first openly gay, non-celibate ordained Christian priest. HBO is saying that the Presidential Inaugural Committee decided the timing. So who's to blame? I have been very critical of HBO over the past year, but I find it hard to believe that the pay channel is hostile to gays given its many programs dealing with all sorts of LGBT issues. On the other hand, the Obama camp has already angered by gays by choosing Rick Warren, the pro-Prop 8/anti-gay pastor, to deliver the prayer on Inauguration Day. As new info comes in to media, Robinson's omission is looking more like just a planning mistake.
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heaven forbid anyone blame the new messiah for any mistakes.
boy the next 4 years will be horrible knowing we have an infallible president.
but i guess liberals are between aRock and a hard place.
well enjoy the leader you elected. you bought him you own him.
It was a great opening prayer and I’m sad that HBO cut it out. However, with all the hubbub, you can see it on YouTube as well as the HBO website so I believe it will now be viewed much more than if it was just broadcasted.
“Considerable heart?” I assume you meant “heat”…?
It’s simple. Starting an entertainment program that begins with a 4:00 invocation is not good entertainment. Nothing against the bishop at all. BTW, they did have the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington singing “My Country ‘Tis of Thee” with Josh Groban and Heather Headley.
Video of Rev. Robinson’s speech:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWWAnitUCw4
**
Gay Bishop Kicks off Celebrity-filled Event
By Sarah Pulliam
January 18, 2009
“[...] here’s the full text of the prayer:
“O God of our many understandings, we pray that you will bless us with tears – tears for a world in which over a billion people exist on less than a dollar a day, where young women in many lands are beaten and raped for wanting an education, and thousands die daily from malnutrition, malaria, and AIDS.
Bless this nation with anger – anger at discrimination, at home and abroad, against refugees and immigrants, women, people of color, gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people.
Bless us with discomfort at the easy, simplistic answers we’ve preferred to hear from our politicians, instead of the truth about ourselves and our world, which we need to face if we are going to rise to the challenges of the future.
Bless us with patience and the knowledge that none of what ails us will be fixed anytime soon, and the understanding that our new president is a human being, not a messiah.
Bless us with humility, open to understanding that our own needs as a nation must always be balanced with those of the world.
Bless us with freedom from mere tolerance, replacing it with a genuine respect and warm embrace of our differences.
Bless us with compassion and generosity, remembering that every religion’s God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable.
And God, we give you thanks for your child, Barack, as he assumes the office of President of the United States.
Give him wisdom beyond his years, inspire him with President Lincoln’s reconciling leadership style, President Kennedy’s ability to enlist our best efforts, and Dr. King’s dream of a nation for all people.
Give him a quiet heart, for our ship of state needs a steady, calm captain.
Give him stirring words; We will need to be inspired and motivated to make the personal and common sacrifices necessary to facing the challenges ahead.
Make him color-blind, reminding him of his own words that under his leadership, there will be neither red nor blue states, but the United States.
Help him remember his own oppression as a minority, drawing on that experience of discrimination, that he might seek to change the lives of those who are still its victims.
Give him strength to find family time and privacy, and help him remember that even though he is president, a father only gets one shot at his daughters’ childhoods.
And please, God, keep him safe. We know we ask too much of our presidents, and we’re asking far too much of this one. We implore you, O good and great God, to keep him safe. Hold him in the palm of your hand, that he might do the work we have called him to do, that he might find joy in this impossible calling, and that in the end, he might lead us as a nation to a place of integrity, prosperity, and peace. Amen.”
http://blog.christianitytoday.com/ctpolitics/2009/01/gay_bishop_kick.html
Rev. Warren is not anti-gay. He does not have a hateful bone in his body. But unfortunately all the hysterical bloggers have caricatured him that way. And sadly, the miniscule number of protestors who follow the rhetoric like lemmings will never find out who the man really is or what he stands for.
Yep, I think it was an honest mistake. HBO has a great track record of programming with well-rounded gay characters (Six Feet Under, Sex and the City). Even Big Love is really a big gay allegory.
Angering the gay groups? (eyes roll).
Maybe you should also mention Rick Warren angered the pologymy groups too. (Yes, they exist.) Oh, and well, while we’re at it, the people in jail for stealing, raping, and murdering too. You know, since all Obama actually did was select one of a million other pastors who preach directly from the all-time best selling, most read, most respected book in history, the Bible. Which will be the very same book Obama will be getting, you know, sworn in on when he takes the Presidential oath of office. Yeah, boo, hiss, how dare Obama have such a nerve to do such a terrible, terrible, thing as that.
Puh-lease.
Amen!
Preachers, Obama swearing on a bible… That’s what progress looks like? That’s CHANGE? That new business man elected prez could as well have sworn on his own bestseller, no? His sales could probably feed a small nation. Will it, by the way? Does he donate the proceeds?
And we’re supposed to be outraged that a speech (however well worded and intentioned) of yet another preacher of some cult did not get aired?
Separation of Church and State — now that would be a novel idea. Faith is one thing but the institution of church — any church — is quite another. Never mind that their bestselling novel, albeit not flawless, is a well of symbolism for many more decades to come, I’m sure, a fave of the horror-genre (how befitting). Newer works not so much, as most lack any creativity and are merely derivative and straining for a sort of realism, but they’re still very much in business. (Not hinting at any Jesus-faced omelettes on Ebay or on walls in movies or whatever)
Maybe one ought not watch The Tudors so as not to get turned off re: the political powers afforded to an institution that has a difficult history and that’s still largely backwards, even completely at odds with current law and current sensibilities.
It may not be HBO’s fault or the politicians’ (you know, the figureheads officially in political office, not the ones who work for the institution “church” or industry moguls), but whoever planned this event most certainly planned it meticulously. Isn’t there a scene in the bible where someone washes the blood off his hands?
At any rate, the blogging world will ensure that the youtube video will get exposure, if only to point out how well planned that ill-conceived event was.
This is such a bullshit excuse. Not unlike when the Oscars tried to “explain” why Brad Renfro wasn’t included in last year’s obituaries but countless agents were. I can’t imagine anyone would fall for this bullshit excuse either.
HBO is okay with Beyonce dry humping the stage but not a gay man saying a prayer? That speaks volumes.
The gay rag The Advocate which had been so pro-Obama has recently gotten religion and are now exposing him for the fraud that he is what with him being pro-gay one minute and against gay marriage (equality) the next. At least SOMEONE has the balls to see through this media-created messiah.
Warren is not anti-gay? So why did he push for the passing of the bigoted Prop. 8? So why does his church have a ban on gays unless they repent? So why does he lump gays in with child molesters and bigamist? These are all his actions not some propaganda pushed by extremist. Taylor, not only are you an bigot, you’re an idiot and liar as well.
Hi,
How long is everyone going to run around after the gays and pander to their every indulgence, where they get their knickers in a twist over anything that doesn’t further inflate their intimidated acceptance of their perversion.
The logic of a priest being in a religion that condemns sex outside marriage – you know, an eternal commitment between man and woman, and then the rest of society are meant to accept this is as wrong-headed as any of the anti-science dogma that George W. Bush had.
Kind regards,
Quevoni
Hey “FactCheck” did you just lump gays in with thieves, rapists and murderers?! Man, are you in for a rude awakening when you finally meet your maker.
Oh lu-ee… spoken like a true conservative… you’re looking so far to the right that you can’t turn your head left for one minute. Haven’t you heard anything? Obama doesn’t claim to be a messah or infallible… if you take a moment to listen to him, he’s the first to tell us that. We see him as a bright man who embraces everyone, he acknowledges the challenges he faces and promises to do his best to TRY to make life better for everyone, even you.
“We…are gratified that hundreds of thousands of people who gathered on the mall heard his eloquent prayer for our nation that was a fitting start to our event.”
Not for nothing, but I was at the Lincoln Memorial and we actually couldn’t hear the Bishop at all because the speakers weren’t working yet. It’s a shame, the invocation sounds lovely.
It’s a TV show, people. Are you tuning in for a prayer or to see Springsteen rock with The Rising?