The president choosing not to say something because he believes (rightly or wrongly) that it would be a bad idea to do so is not the same as not being permitted to say it.
Likewise, the fact that your comments are not being carried on NBC is not the same as not being permitted to say them.
NO. He doesn't choose NOT to say something. He says an untruth. What I say is made out to be a "divisive lie" (*). His lie is told in the interest of "unity". But it is still a historical falsehood.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1907725/posts Bush: All religions pray to 'same God' WorldNetdaily.com ^ | October 7, 2007
President George Bush has repeated his belief all religions, "whether they be Muslim, Christian, or any other religion, prays to the same God" – an assertion that caused outrage among evangelical leaders when he said it in November 2003.Bush made the statement Friday in an interview with Al Arabiya reporter Elie Nakouzi.
Al Arabiya is Al Jazeerah's top competitor in the Mideast.
Sounds a lot Obama:
2004 Interview: Obama Talks about Jesus, Heaven and Sin
(June 3, 2008)
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/2111204/posts
“OBAMA: Right. Jesus is a historical figure for me, and he’s also a bridge between God and man, in the Christian faith, and one that I think is powerful precisely because he serves as that means of us reaching something higher. And he’s also a wonderful teacher. I think it’s important for all of us, of whatever faith, to have teachers in the flesh and also teachers in history.”Obama: “There’s the belief, certainly in some quarters, that people haven’t embraced Jesus Christ as their personal savior that they're going to hell.”
GG: You don’t believe that?
OBAMA: I find it hard to believe that my God would consign four-fifths of the world to hell. I can’t imagine that my God would allow some little Hindu kid in India who never interacts with the Christian faith to somehow burn for all eternity. That’s just not part of my religious makeup.
GG: What is sin?
OBAMA: Being out of alignment with my values.
----
* just as it is an inconvenient truth to point out that Barack Obama is not a Christian and no evidence of a baptism has ever been presented, certainly his agnostic mother and non-practicing muslim fathers would not have had him baptised. Even his grandparents were non-practicising Christians. He went to a Unitarian church for his grandmother's memorial service last month.