Rich Lowry:
President Obama's ringing statement in favor of the Ground Zero mosque had a gaping escape clause: He didn't necessarily support the mosque.
Not that he bothered to spell that out for his entranced listeners at a White House dinner last Friday night to mark iftar (the start of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan), or to his supporters who rushed to hail the "finest moment" of his presidency.
"Moment" turned out to be the right word. Less than 24 hours later he was telling reporters he hadn't taken a position on the "wisdom" of the mosque project, only on the organizers' "right to build a place of worship and community center on private property in lower Manhattan."
Obama managed to stake a brave stand on a principle no one seriously contests -- the legal right to build the mosque -- while voting "present" on the question that matters: Whether they should or not. This is high-toned dodginess, insipidity masquerading as incisiveness.
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Obama seems to wander into these rhetorical box canyons a lot lately. It is as though he has no one to keep him on script and making sure his statements tie to a coherent whole. In the case of this mosque he has managed to offend pretty much everyone and leave those who thought he was having a "finest moment" having to revise and extend their remarks too.
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Politicians and people are comparing American Muslims with nazis. They are accusing innocent men and women, calling every Muslim a murderer. The mosque is often called the monument of terrorism.
ReplyDeleteIt is easy to prosecute small groups in order to win votes. I agree with those who found Obama's first statements to be his finest moment. Too bad it was so short.
Here is my short blog entry, if you are interested:
http://yellowhype.blogspot.com/2010/08/few-words-on-mosque-issue.html