Obama: Iftar Meal, Ground Zero Mosque

Obama was "clear" when he spoke at an iftar meal at the White House that he hosted for Muslims breaking their Ramadan fast.

He is strongly in favor of the mosque at Ground Zero.

This is a dramatic change from the message previously delivered by the White House.

Ten days ago, Robert Gibbs told a very different story, taking a very different approach to the controversy.

President Obama, who made outreach to Muslims a central theme of his first year in office, has decided to sit out the national debate now raging over the plan to build a mosque near the site of Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan.

Even as a New York commission voted on Tuesday to clear the way for construction of a tower that will house a Muslim center and mosque two blocks from the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the White House said it would not take a position because the issue was merely a local matter.

“I think this is rightly a matter for New York City and the local community to decide,” Robert Gibbs, the White House press secretary, said at his regular briefing.

Asked how that squares with the president’s support for religious freedom, Mr. Gibbs said: “You’ve heard this administration, and the last administration, talk about the fact that we are not at war with a religion but with an idea that has corrupted a religion. But that having been said, I’m not from here going to get involved in local decision-making like that.”

Obama refused to get involved in the debate, until Friday night.

Transcript

OBAMA: But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as president, I believe that Muslims have the right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country.

That includes, that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances.

This is America, and our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and that they will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure.

We must never forget those who we lost so tragically on 9/11. And we must always honor those who led the response to that attack, from the firefighters who charged up smoke-filled staircases to our troops who are serving in Afghanistan today.

Let us also remember who we're fighting against and what we're fighting for. Our enemies respect no religious freedom. Al Qaeda's cause is not Islam. It's a gross distortion of Islam. These are not religious leaders. They're terrorists who murder innocent men and women and children. In fact, al Qaeda has killed more Muslims than people of any other religion, and that list of victims includes innocent Muslims who were killed on 9/11.

So that's who we're fighting against. And the reason that we will win this fight is not simply the strength of our arms. It is the strength of our values; the democracy that we uphold; the freedoms that we cherish; the laws that we apply without regard to race, or religion, or wealth, or status; our capacity to show not merely tolerance but respect towards those who are different from us. And that way of life, that quintessentially American creed, stands in stark contrast to the nihilism of those who attacked us on that September morning, and who continue to plot against us today.

In my inaugural address, I said that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus, and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and every culture, drawn from every end of this Earth. And that diversity can bring difficult debates. This is not unique to our time. Past eras have seen controversies about the construction of synagogues or Catholic churches. But time and again, the American people have demonstrated that we can work through these issues, and stay true to our core values, and emerge stronger for it. So it must be and will be today.

Tonight, we are reminded that Ramadan is a celebration of a faith known for great diversity. And Ramadan is a reminder that Islam has always been a part of America. The first Muslim ambassador to the United States, from Tunisia, was hosted by President Jefferson who arranged a sunset dinner for his guest because it was Ramadan, making it the first known iftar at the White House, more than 200 years ago.

Why did it take so long for Obama to speak up on the issue?

Perhaps Obama thought he needed to make a bold move after Gibbs' major gaffe, when he slammed the "professional Left."

Obama just can't afford to continue his approval rating slide. He at least has to hold on to the support of the extremists on the Left. He could be hoping to win back some of his wavering supporters. In any event, the decision was made by Team Obama to get off the sidelines and take a stand on the mosque at Ground Zero.

No doubt the lib media will call Obama's remarks courageous. They'll drool over his superior intellect and his leadership. The Nobel Committee is probably readying to award Obama another Peace Prize.

Did you know that Pope John Paul II was never awarded the Nobel Peace Prize?

Hard to believe.

Some recommended reading for Obama: "WTC Mosque, Meet the Auschwitz Nuns," by William McGurn.

Without doubt Pope John Paul II did not share the more malevolent interpretations attached to the presence of the Carmelites at Auschwitz. By asking the nuns to withdraw, he didn't concede them either. What he did was recognize that having the right to do something doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.

I don't know if Obama's newly proclaimed position on the Ground Zero mosque plan is a calculated political maneuver or a genuine lack of wisdom on his part.

It could be a bit of both.

Video.