Gay Representative, Former Presidents Among Honorary Inauguration Co-Chairs
The Presidential Inaugural Committee has released a list of the honorary co-chairs for Barack Obama's inauguration. The group includes former Presidents George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter; Senators Dick Durbin, Dick Lugar and Claire McCaskill; and well known figures such as General Colin Powell, who endorsed Obama, and the president-elect's half-sister, Maya Soetoro-Ng.
Also on the list is openly gay Wisconsin Rep. Tammy Baldwin. Obama has taken heat from gay groups for inviting Saddleback Church Pastor Rick Warren, who backed California Proposition 8 outlawing gay marriage, to give the inaugural invocation. As noted below, another gay representative, Barney Frank, called the choice of Warren a mistake.
Other co-chairs include basketball coach Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama's brother, and Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son. The Committee says the co-chairs will "help lead" the inaugural activities, and the release stresses the ideological diversity of the group, saying the selection are in keeping with "an inclusive and bipartisan" inauguration. A full list is below.
(AP)
Other co-chairs include basketball coach Craig Robinson, Michelle Obama's brother, and Hunter Biden, Joe Biden's son. The Committee says the co-chairs will "help lead" the inaugural activities, and the release stresses the ideological diversity of the group, saying the selection are in keeping with "an inclusive and bipartisan" inauguration. A full list is below.
