I completely agree with you. I think after that interview, this was the correct path. Still, I think we should give people a chance, upon taking a new position, to hold to at least a somewhat clean public record. He made that donation in five years ago. He probably had no idea at the time he would be seeking such a public position. Unlike Dan Cathy, there's no indication he would have brought up his views on his own (he would have likely to consider it a bad idea). Once enough hate had been generated, the interview was inevitable. And once it's out in the open, I mean, I agree, he should have backed down. I'm somewhat proud of him and I respect him more, but if you're a board of directors, you have responsibilities.

Overall, I think society benefits from the flexibility of forgiveness. Branden is a prodigal and historic figure -- we should at least give him the chance to continue changing the world.