Obama: When I Said I Supported The Ground Zero Victory Mosque I Didn't Mean I Supported-Supported It
He says he supports the right to build it, but won't comment on whether or not it should be built.
Voting present...! What a surprise!
President Obama said on Saturday that in defending the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near Ground Zero he “was not commenting” on “the wisdom” of that particular project, but rather trying to uphold the broader principle that government should treat “everyone equal, regardless” of religion.
...
White House officials said earlier in the day that Mr. Obama was not trying to promote the project, but rather sought more broadly to make a statement about freedom of religion and American values. “In this country we treat everybody equally and in accordance with the law, regardless of race, regardless of religion,” Mr. Obama said at the Coast Guard station. “I was not commenting and I will not comment on the wisdom of making the decision to put a mosque there. I was commenting very specifically on the right people have that dates back to our founding. That’s what our country is about.
“And I think it’s very important as difficult as some of these issues are that we stay focused on who we are as a people and what our values are all about.”
So, does that mean he has no opinion on the wisdom of it?
No, indeed: He has a strong opinion which he will not say publicly, but lets instead his aides transmit to liberal supporters like the NYT, who report it deep in the story, after a jump:
Aides to Mr. Obama say privately that he has always felt strongly about the proposed community center and mosque, but the White House did not want to weigh in until local authorities made a decision on the proposal...
ace.mu.nu
[ I take this to mean, he's strongly in favor of the Cordoba victory mosque but doesn't want to incur so many Americans ill will in a Congressional election year. |
