I was doing okay until . . .

Rev. William Lowery opened his mouth and pissed me off.

Who IS this guy? Yes, yes, I know he was a friend and partner of Martin Luther King, Jr. but apparently MLK's balanced and intelligent approach to issues of race failed to rub off on the good reverend.

He delivered the benediction today after President Obama took the oath of office.

Rev. Lowery started out okay but he lost me about halfway through as the prayer he was supposed to be delivering turned into a rambling speech before culminating in the most ridiculous, asinine, inappropriate and flat-out tacky remark I guess I've ever heard spoken from the platform of an official proceeding.

He concluded his prayer with the following: "Lord, in the memory of all the saints who from their labors rest, and in the joy of a new beginning, we ask you to help us work for that day when black will not be asked to get back, when brown can stick around – when yellow will be mellow – when the red man can get ahead, man – and when white will embrace what is right."

Nice.

Some commentators are making excuses for Lowery based on the fact that he's 87, but taking that into account, I still can't fathom how such outdated rhetoric made it into a presidential benediction in 2009.

My mother who is a member of Lowery's decade said it herself. "Age is no excuse for bad taste."

Didn't anyone read through his remarks ahead of time? On second thought, I guess you wouldn't reasonably expect a man of God to throw out such politically tinged nonsense on this, of all days.