Why was Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson kept off "We Are One"?

FINAL UPDATE 5 PM: HBO and Team Obama both doing make-goods! HBO will add the Robinson invocation to the replay of "We Are One" that will be broadcast to everyone on the Mall in Washington as they gather for the inauguration tomorrow. HBO confirms that the invocation will be added to ALL future telecasts of "We Are One" ... except tonight's because it's just too late to get it in.

UPDATE 1:55 PM CT: Team Obama is very sorry ... Presidential Inaugural Committee spokesman Josh Earnest issued this statement: "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."

I understand from a different source that this is not over. That the country may yet get to hear this simple, yet uncompromising prayer from Bishop Robinson. For now it's on YouTube (see below).

UPDATE 1:11 PM CT: Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson just addressed the issue on NPR's Talk of the Nation. He said he had been in interviews all morning and no one -- certainly not Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC -- mentioned the snub. "I know very little about it," said Robinson before telling host Neal Conan how he learned the news: "I had a delightful day meeting all the other participants in the program. ... A little later in the morning I happened to see a schedule," and it showed him giving the invocation at 2:25 and HBO cameras going live at 2:30 p.m.

Robinson said he had "no idea" why it was scheduled this way but postulated, "The fact of the matter is HBO is an entertainment station and perhaps an executive at HBO thought, 'Well, who would possibly be interested in a prayer? People are tuning in to see Bruce Springsteen and Stevie Wonder.'" As you will read below, HBO officials made it clear that they had nothing to do with the scheduling. Also, a caller to "Talk of the Nation" called in to confirm that NPR did not air the invocation, either.

AUDIO: I talked with MSNBC's Rachel Maddow about the Robinson situation this afternoon.

UPDATED with audio, clarification from HBO, revised text of prayer plus video below.

Like me, you probably enjoyed the heck out of "We Are One," the first of several Barack Obama love-ins scheduled for the next few days during this extraordinary Inaugural Week in Washington. I've already tweeted my top 3 highlights.

(Actually, a lot of readers couldn't get it, despite promises that they could. HBO said it was offering "We Are One" free to cable and satellite systems. But in Kansas City, the largest cable provider, Time Warner, only passed along the free program to subscribers with digital cable boxes. If you missed it, it's online right now at HBO.com.)

Later, though, I realized something was missing from the two-hour celebration: the opening invocation, delivered by the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson, the openly gay Episcopal bishop of New Hampshire. Supposedly Robinson was tapped for the job weeks and weeks ago, but the announcement was only made last Monday, long after Rick Warren, the evangelical pastor who pushed Prop. 8 in California and considers banning gay marriage more important than banning torture, was chosen to say the invocation at Obama's swearing-in.

Mrs. TVB said I was making up Robinson's appearance at "We Are One," because she re-watched the HBO special later that night and confirmed, no bishop, no prayer, at the beginning of the program.

However, as you can clearly see above, Robinson did read an opening prayer just moments before HBO's telecast began.

Nor did Robinson's picture find its way into NPR's gallery of images from the concert. Admittedly, the news division did not cover the event -- NPR Music did -- but the website certainly is the domain of NPR News. A search of Getty Images, NYTimes.com and WaPo slide shows turned up nothing. In short, I found no visual evidence that an invocation was ever said.

Suddenly, Barack Obama's minister friends aren't news?

AUDIO: Chip Franklin and I discussed the Robinson snub at the beginning of the day on KOGO Radio in San Diego.

Wait, it gets worse: Turns out half the crowd that had gathered around the Lincoln Memorial and could see Bishop Robinson give his prayer couldn't hear him. "A malfunction in at least one massive speaker tower on the south side of the memorial left tightly-packed crowds on pins and needles chanting thunderously, 'We can't hear. We can't hear,'" reported a blogger at NYTimes.com.

UPDATE: I have edited the original version of Robinson's prayer to reflect what he actually said, as recorded in the YouTube above (note the three strikeouts):

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 and an understanding that in our diversity, we are stronger.

Bless us with compassion and generosity - remembering that every religion's God judges us by the way we care for the most vulnerable in the human community, whether across town or across the world.

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 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 in these times.

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 know the risk he and his wife are taking for all of us, and 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.

On the whole, though, Robinson's prayer was milder than what Bono had to say on stage.

As I see it, the Obama campaign has three options when the outcry (which has already started) comes to a boil later today:

**1. Claim it was a technical glitch, jumping on the Times blog item.** This would not only be a cowardly route, but it would be quickly disproven by one of several possibly gay executives at HBO or a viewer who could point out that the show began precisely and glitch-free at 2:30 p.m. ET.

UPDATE: Option 1 is off the table. An HBO spokesperson told TVB, "The PIC (Presidential Inaugural Committee)made the decision to put Bishop Robinson's invocation in the pre-show."

2. Come clean and admit that they never intended for Robinson to be seen on national TV. Which would mean admitting that Obama cooked up an extremely cynical ploy to pacify gays -- and straights like me who support gay marriage -- with a press release. Well, it failed. Perhaps Team Obama will claim it had no idea Robinson would not be seen giving the invocation. But then what does that say of Team Obama's vaunted preparation, planning, and chesslike working of all the angles?

3. Admit they screwed up and should've included Robinson on camera. If HBO had -- for some reason -- objected to having a gay bishop welcome all of America to "We Are One," then the invocation could have been pushed until after the entry of the presidential entourage. Well, it would not be the first time Team Obama had underestimated a controversial clergyman ... or the second. (How many presidents have gotten into hot water over their ministers three times before they even took the oath of office??)(

Whatever excuse the Obama people choose, exactly zero Americans saw Bishop Robinson on TV welcoming America to a day celebrating a president who is supposedly, to quote Colin Powell, a transformational figure.

And 150 million people will see Rick Warren do the same thing on Tuesday.

Some transformation.

For its part, NPR has some 'splainin' to do as well. I've put in a request to its ombudsman.

Comments

[bettyt]

AP has published a photo of Gene Robinson at the podium!!! I saw it on HuffPost's photo gallery!

I've been scouring YouTube hoping to find video of the invocation - no luck yet.

[sp122472]

an beautiful inclusive prayer that wasn't included. sad.

[mark]

"BLESS us with anger- at discrimination..."
~Bishop Robinson

MY BLESSING OVERFLOWETH

The LGBT blogs are FURIOUS, and it wasn't HBO'sdecision, Obama's team decided the prayer was PRE-SHOW.
The anger at Obama and Warren has easily quadrupled, and all bets are off what happens when Warren appears at MLK on Monday or Tuesday Invocation.

[Marco]

It sounds like Bishop Robinson was dissed by HBO. Soon to follow we will see all kinds of reports whipping up the gay community, yanking their chains royally! This will give the media another chance to talk about those whinny homosexuals who want to turn our happy innauguration into something sinister.

Same old tired crap. Diversity is not respected and tolerance is just an idea in the states.

[Lloyd Jason Phillips]

I was at the concert yesterday and on the south side of the Lincoln memorial. We couldn't hear a single word of Gene Robinson's invocation. Mind you, moments before when Elmo was on the jumbotrons, there was no technical issue or immediately following when the concert kicked off. Mind you, the HBO logos didn't show up on the screens until after Gene Robinson finished. It was planned from the very beginning that he wasn't going to be on the telecast. I'm wondering if Rick Warren is going to be given the same treatment on Tuesday?

[Mary]

What a mess!!! It doesn't matter why Rev. Gene Robinson wasn't broadcast. It needs to broadcast - not on HBO - accessible to all the viewing audience. He deserves an apology and to be introduced by President Elect Obama at a very visible event. May be before the inaugural invocation. This is an outrage!! Also I am not a member of the gay community. This is a wrong that ABSOLUTELY needs to be addressed.

[Thom Chu]

Here's the YouTube footage of Robinson's prayer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWWAnitUCw4

*[Thanks to Thom and everyone else who spotted the YouTube the minute it went up -- I've posted it above. --AB]*

[Coquinegra]

Um, I saw Gene Robinson greeting the President-Elect and his family at the end of the concert, so he wasn't invisible. I think you're seeing a conspiracy where none exists, but feel free to discuss it further at my politics forum, if you like. I don't think HBO is known for its religious programming, and since they were obviously footing the bill, they showed us what ever they wanted to.

*[We'll discuss it right here, thanks -- but unless they flash that red ribbon on screen with your name in reverse type, you don't exist on HBO. -- AB]*

[Aaron Barnhart]

A reader writes....

"I called Everest (Surewest) and they said they had gotten a number of calls but the only way to get it was to subscribe to HBO and I could do that for a day (since I already had a box) I told them HBO was giving it to cable companies for free but they disputed that.

"Maybe you've already written or writing this for the paper but seems like the local cable companies either don't know what's going on or trying to make money off of it. -- Mike Ardis"

[laura]

THANK YOU. I can't thank you enough for reporting this. Thank you for being a smart, conscientious ally. Just thank you.

[Paul Gutierrez]

I made a special point of wathching this "We Are One" concert because this was THE event that was supposed to be inclusive of my community. How disapppointing to sit through 2 hours of this show, lauding inclusiveness, the importance of civil rights, and hope for a better future, and never see the most prominent person who was supposedly "included" many weeks ago to represent my community. To find out that he was excluded from the broadcast is even more disappointing.

Yes, the Gay Men's Chorus was on stage to back up Josh Groban and Heahter Headly, but you needed some modicum of gaydar to figure out who they were. I guess we should be happy that some of us were on the bus. We are much better off than we would be with the alternative. But so far Mr. Obama's team is keeping us at the back of the bus. Perahps someday he and the rest of America will actually understand that separate is not equal. I still have the audacity to hope............

[Maggie Martin]

I am sad and confused and deeply, deeply upset. This casts a dark shadow on everything that I had hoped Barack Obama's presidency would bring to this country. The breath of fresh air that I expected to partake of has just shifted to a smelly breeze.

Gene Robinson gave a stunning interview just last week on NPR and frankly, that was the reason I watched the event -- to hear the invocation. After 90 minutes passed, I looked on line for an explanation and then started to piece together what happened. I hope and pray that this is not what it appears to be. However, the fact that the Biden's and Obama's were not yet visible when Bishop Robinson delivered the invocation troubles me deeply.

Typically, invocations are given at the very beginning of an event as soon as all participants are settled in their seats/pews. Why were the Biden's and Obama's not present for the invocation? This, added to the lack of it being televised and the faulty sound system, causes me to have doubts about motive.

How sad for us to have missed his brilliance and his powerful message of active nonviolence.

[MARK]

F$%^ HBO and OBAMA and his TEAM for SCREWING US OVER AGAIN

[Karen]

Just watched the entire event waiting for Gene Robinson's prayer. Now I know he was snubbed. Leaves a very bad feeling after what could have been a door opening for gay people.

[Sue T.]

"How many presidents have gotten into hot water over their ministers three times before they even took the oath of office??" Oh, how wonderful it would be to see an atheist or agnostic president take office in my lifetime, with NO invocations (or swearing on the Bible for that matter) needed. This whole thing is just ludicrous.

[mensa7]

@bettyt
Christianity Today has footage here's a link on Pam's House Blend to the VIDEO
http://www.pamshouseblend.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=9102

[natthedem]

It's important, I think, to not confuse Obama with the decisions of the inaugural committee--those are not synonymous. Until someone says otherwise, I'd just point to statement from HBO which says the Robinson decision was that of the Inaugural Committee.

[Nate]

I doubt the invocation would have been included no matter who was giving it. Religious stuff just isn't that popular. That's why televangelists have to own and operate their own networks.

[Shannon]

Maybe a higher power had a hand in this!

[Dan]

WE ARE ONE?

Yeah, except for The Gays. You can go ahead and continue shooting them like it sez in thuh BIBLE.

I am disgusted with Obama. Our hope for the future is over.

[Dan]

By the way thanks to TVBarn for providing this info and updates.

[Dan]

I'm struggling to be constructive with my anger about Obama now.

Obama could publicly apologize and state his support for equal rights for gay people including marriage. This would be the minimum expected of any leader in the civilized world. But likely? Doubtful.

I can't believe I'm having to say that Obama does not meet the minimum criteria for a basic enlightened human being.

So as an alternative, the entertainers who Obama lied to by telling them that this was the "WE ARE ONE" concert should let him know that they do not appreciate being used.

Bono, Springsteen, Latifah, Hanks, Wonder and all the rest of you. If you agree with gay people being kicked in the teeth as the literal opening sct of this administration, do nothing. Otherwise, tell Obama he lied to you and to us, and you do not like it.

[Jim]

This incident will work for good. It will point out to even more people the discrimination that exists against gays and will aid their cause.

[Lucas Moore]

This is what it appears to be people. All kinds of talk directly from Obama on Guantanimo but nothing directly from him on Don't Ask Don't Tell? Robert Gibbs and his stupid one word response to the Obama administration repealing that policy (usually when I hear politicians give a one word answer it's because they have something to hide) No Obama interviews with gay publications since April of 08 (despite the millions of dollars we injected into his campaign).... and last but not least, his position on gay marriage. Change.... it isn't coming.

[debbie]

It shows how polarized and unhealthy our politics have been that people are taking this error by deciding that that Obama is no good. Barack Obama talked about gay people in his 2004 Democratic convention speech. He has the most progressive policy views of any president, ever. Focus on the big picture, folks.