UPDATE: It seems I've riled the "President Obama Lockstep Marching Squad and Glee Club" with my remarks about the president's (as I see it) ill-advised remarks about having no comment on the "wisdom" of building the Islamic Community Center near the former WTC site.
Before you start calling me stupid (without explaining why) or blindly defending what he said today by remarking that what he said last night was spot on correct (which it was), answer this question.
Are you GLAD that President Obama raised the issue of "the wisdom" of building the center there? HE RAISED IT. He wasn't asked about it.
Or do you think it would be better if he HADN'T raised the issue?
That is the point of this diary. In toto.
I realize this won't make me a lot of friends in here, but I hope my cred is such that I can say it anyway without a ton of acrimony.
President Obama was PITCH PERFECT last night when he declared that the people building the Muslim Community Center in South Manhattan have every Constitutional right to do so. We civil libertarians rejoiced!
Then, today, he takes what my Mom used to call "that one step beyond."
On Saturday, Obama said he "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," the president added. "That's what our country is about."
Obama, who on Friday said he was speaking both as a citizen and as president, invoked the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, which critics of the Islamic center cite as the main reason for blocking its construction.
"We must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of lower Manhattan," Obama said. "The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country."
"The pain and suffering experienced by those who lost loved ones is unimaginable," he continued. "So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. Ground zero is, indeed, hallowed ground."
EEEEEEEEEYYYYAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!
He stepped right into the poo pile with his eyes wide open. Now, his critics on the left will continue to beat him over the head with this building project that "mocks everything decent about white Christian America and makes the baby Jeebus CRY!" while his critics on the left will criticize him for having the temerity to wonder about the "wisdom" of building the community center there -- more reason to question whether the president is "wishy washy."
(BTW: It's a COMMUNITY CENTER! Not a MOSQUE! It's as much of a MOSQUE as a hospital with a chapel in it is a CHURCH! CAN WE GET THE NOMENCLATURE STRAIGHT HERE, PEOPLE???)
He wasn't even ASKED about the "wisdom" of putting the community center there! So why even bring it up?
If asked he HAD been asked, he should have said...
"That's not an argument I'm going to get into. The decision has been been made by the people who make the decision. I stand by their decision, just like I would stand by the decision to build a church, a synagogue, an ashram, or whatever place of worship that is supported by local zoning ordinances. I'm the President of the United States, not the zoning commissioner. The First Amendment speaks for itself. Now, I'm going swimming with my daughter!"
I love the President. I think he has potential for greatness -- if he will just STOP trying to be all things to all people! He needs to realize he has NO friends in the media, NO friends in the GOP, and NO friends among the weak-spined Democrats who value re-election more than "doing the right thing."
Just be you, Mr. President!