Basic Information
Name: Richard Duane Warren
Nicknames: Rick, R. Duane "The Rock" Warren
Born: January 28th, 1954
Nationality: American
Hometown: San Jose, California
WORK & EDUCATION
Occupation: Pastor
Education: California Baptist University, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, Fuller Theological Seminary
FAMILY & FRIENDS
Parents: James Warren, Dorothy Warren
Spouse: Kay Warren
Children: Josh Warren, Amy Hilliker, Matthew Warren
Friends: Marco Rubio, Piers Morgan, Dr. Oz
Foes: LGBTQ Community, Jerry Falwell, Carbs
Analysis
You Can't Spell GOP Without God
Conservative Republicans in America tend to align themselves closely with Christianity. Everyone in politics seems to love to talk about God, but Republicans tend to talk about religion more than Democrats do.
In 2009, Barack Obama had the oratorical swagger of a preacher. His inaugural address is full of religious overtones. He could've gone secular, but he chose to go God.
During the campaign, candidate Obama and his advisors had determined that it was important to reach out to conservatives. Since the overall message was unification and bipartisanship, religion seemed like a non-controversial way to get the unity ball rolling.
The Warren Way
That's probably why president-elect Obama chose Rick Warren to give the invocation for his 2009 inauguration ceremony. And when it came to getting brownie points with conservatives, Warren was a good choice.
However, the choice angered some members of the Democratic coalition. Warren had expressed opposition to gay marriage, which obviously didn't sit well with the LGBTQ community. Remember, this was way back in 2008, before gay marriage was legalized across America (which happened in 2015).
It was important to Obama not to alienate people based on the gay marriage issue, and he walked a fine line. It may sound unbelievable in hindsight, considering his record on LGBTQ equality, but during the 2008 campaign, Obama's top advisors counseled him to take a position against gay marriage (and be in favor of civil unions instead), in order to get more votes (source). Privately, he was totes in favor of gay marriage, according to his campaign manager.
What Warren Wants
During the campaign, Warren hosted a discussion forum with John McCain and Obama, where they talked about—you guessed it—unicorns. Jk, the topic was clearly religion. During the event, Obama professed his Christian beliefs. This was a necessary image rehabilitation move for candidate Obama. During a prior fundraiser, he had angered conservatives by saying some small-town voters in the Midwest "cling to guns or religion" during tough economic times. This didn't exactly endear him to people who were gun and/or religion enthusiasts.
Despite publicly confirming he was a Christian, Obama became the victim of some pretty gnarly cultural prejudice. In an infamous moment from the 2008 campaign, a woman at a John McCain rally said she was convinced Obama was "an Arab."
Uh.
Though McCain shut that lady down real quick ("no, ma'am"), this was evidence of just how rampant this conspiracy theory (termed the "birther movement" and fueled mostly by then-reality show host Donald Trump) had spread. Even after President Obama produced his birth certificate and Trump admitted that, yeah, Obama was born in Hawaii, not Kenya, some people still held on to the false claim.
In the end, Rick Warren and President Obama rode off together into the sunset on a unicorn. Just kidding again. By the time of the 2012 presidential campaign, Warren had soured on the president, accusing Obama of "infringing" on religious liberties (source). He was probably disappointed that Obama changed his stance on gay marriage. Then again, the LGBTQ community had probably been pretty disappointed with Warren's presence at the 2009 inauguration.
So…#sorrynotsorry.