Day 33: inauguration controversy
Updated on 19 December 2008
Thursday 18 December 2008: Obama appoints regulators and defends role of an evangelical pastor in his inauguration.
The daily press conference was an opportunity for Obama to call for "a 21st century regulatory framework to ensure that a crisis like this can never happen again".
To that end, he introduced Mary Schapiro as the Chairwoman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Gary Gensler as the Chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
"These individuals will help put in place new, common-sense rules of the road that will protect investors, consumers, and our entire economy from fraud and manipulation by an irresponsible few," President-elect Obama said.
"These rules will reward the industriousness and entrepreneurial spirit that's always been the engine of our prosperity, and crack down on the culture of greed and scheming that has led us to this day of reckoning."
Yet the day was marred with controversy around his choice of evangelical pastor Rick Warren to deliver a religious invocation at his presidential inauguration on 20 January 2009.
Warren attracts around 20,000 people each week to his Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, California and is the author of the hugely successful religious advice book "The Purpose Driven Life".
Yet his role has angered gay rights campaigners, particularly since Warren supported California's controversial Proposition 8, which voters approved in November and defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman - effectively banning gay marriage even though it has previously been legal in the state.
The president of the gay rights group Human Rights Campaign, Joe Solmonese, wrote to Obama saying: "By inviting Rick Warren to your inauguration, you have tarnished the view that gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) Americans have a place at your table."
Obama responded to the furore at his press conference saying: "It is no secret that I am a fierce advocate for equality for gay and lesbian Americans...It's important for America to come together, even though we may have disagreements on certain social issues."
