Obama wades into the Mosque at Ground Zero controversy

I was going to put this one in the "Usable News" post, but it started getting longer as the controversy has grown, so I decided it needed a separate post.

Clearly, Obama is an apologist for Islam. Whether or not you believe Obama is a Muslim, and I think a pretty good case can be made that he is (although then you get called a whacko conspiracy-theorist nut for speculating on that), it's pretty clear that Obama has a great affinity for the Muslim faith. On Friday night, he hosted a White House Iftar dinner (you don't know what that is?--that's partially my point--Obama certainly does), celebrating Ramadan. Of course, any dinner where O is the host also must include O as the speaker. So what does he do, but wade into the controversy about building a mosque three blocks from Ground Zero.

He said, "Let me be clear: as a citizen, and as a President, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as anyone else in the country. That includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan." OK, Barack, anybody knows that the point of the controversy is NOT that people don't have a right to practice their religion--or even to build a mosque. The point of the controversy is that a mosque built at the site where 3,000 Americans lost their lives as a result of a terrorist attack by Islamic radicals is not only insensitive, it's also morally wrong.

So that was Friday. On Saturday, realizing that he's getting some serious heat for his support for the Ground Zero mosque, and since he's a guy whose natural reaction is to vote "present" on difficult issues, Obama started backpedaling, "clarifying" his remarks: he wasn't commenting on the wisdom of putting the mosque three blocks from the hole in the ground that used to be the World Trade Center; no, no, no, he was only commenting on the right to build it there. Really? So then, Barry, which side of the issue do you support?

This guy is no natural-born politician; instead, he's a hopeless hack. But then you wonder, is he really this clueless and tone deaf, or is it something else?

Doug Ross has a brilliant piece that he posted on Saturday: "Obama Logic: Disdained White House Nativity Scene Due to Separation of Church and State; Vocally Markets Islamic Victory Mosque at Ground Zero." He reminds us when the White House social secretary put out remarks that "this year the White House would have a 'non-religious' Christmas celebration," that "the Obamas did not intend to put the manger scene on display." There was such an outcry that Zero was forced to walk that one back as well.

At the New Ledger, writer Pejman Yousefzadeh is wondering if we are witnessing "A Presidential Meltdown?"

Update. I'm quite sure the lamestream lapdog press won't report it, but did anyone else notice what Obama said in his prepared remarks at the IFTAR dinner on Friday night? Here it is, and I quote: "Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity and racial equality ... a reminder that Islam has always been part of America and that American Muslims have made extraordinary contributions to our country."

Say what? Muslims are known for "diversity" and "racial equality"? Islam "has always been part of America"? What is this guy talking about? Is Barry doing weed again? What "America" is Barack talking about? I mean, I know that he's not exactly known for his excellent grasp of basic America facts (57 states, the "bomb" that fell on Pearl Harbor [you'd think he'd get at least that one right, coming from Hawaii], etc.), but it's a pretty far stretch, even for him (who has spoken about the "country" of Europe) to say that Islam has "always" been part of this country. What a tool.

Image credit: thelastcrusade

Update #2. So my source for all things "diverse" tells me that, actually, you could say that Islam is known for it's diversity, since in Islam, mutual hatred trumps race. So maybe that's what Zero was talking about. But he still gets and "F" in American history.

Update #3. My new hero, Chris Christie, gov of New Jersey: "Stop playing politics with the Ground Zero mosque."

Update #4. "Mr. President, this is not about religious freedom." See the article at The Corner, National Review Online. This is a response from former U.S. Navy officer, medical doctor, and Muslim, M. Zuhdi Jasser. This is not about religious freedom, Jasser writes. "It is about the importance of the World Trade Center site to the psyche of the American People." This is a stinging rebuke of Mr. Obama.

Update #5. Audio: Mark Levin interviews Zuhdi Jasser on the Ground Zero mosque. h/t to HotAir

One of my favorite blogs, Missourah.com, has a thought-provoking post today about the Manhattan mosque issue: "Sticking Your Head In the Sand - Not Just For Ostriches?" Nice.