Rachel Maddow and Anderson Cooper tackle Rick Warren

Not literally, of course (though I wouldn't hold it against them if they did). But last night both Coop and Maddow discussed President-elect Obama's choice of Saddleback Church's notoriously anti-gay Dr. Rick Warren as the preacher who will deliver the invocation at his inauguration. Warren was an aggressive supporter of Proposition 8, which recently stripped gay citizens of California of their right to marry.

Cooper invited Hilary Rosen, Roland S. Martin and Robert Zimmerman to debate the issue, with Rosen driving home the point that Inauguration Day is not a place for politically divisive decisions. Maddow took a lighter approach (as is her style) by discussing the controversy with resident "pop culturist" Kent Jones, who had my favorite quote of the night:

"Apparently in his invocation Warren is going to be asking God not only to bless America, but also to make it a lot less gay."

You can watch both clips after the jump, and please weigh in in the comments with your thoughts. This decision isn't being swept under the rug anytime soon.