Free Republic

John Boehner, the Ohio Republican who is the House minority leader, said: ”The decision to build this mosque so close to the site of ground zero is deeply troubling, as is the president’s decision to endorse it.” “The American people certainly don’t support it,” Mr. Boehner said. Representative Peter King, a New York Republican, said that while the Muslim community has the right to build the mosque, doing so needlessly offends too many people. “President Obama is wrong,” Mr. King said. “It is insensitive and uncaring for the Muslim community to build a mosque in the shadow of ground zero....

PANAMA CITY, Florida (Reuters) – President Barack Obama on Saturday backed off remarks that appeared to endorse a proposed Muslim cultural center near the site of the September 11, 2001, attacks in New York City, saying he only supported the organizers' right to build it. At a White House event on Friday, Obama seemed to offer his support for the construction of Cordoba House near the site known as "Ground Zero" in lower Manhattan. U.S. conservatives and many New Yorkers object to the project. The 13-story building will include meeting rooms, a prayer space, an auditorium and a swimming pool....

Here is video of President Obama today trying to limit his endorsement of the Ground Zero Mosque by saying he only meant to say Muslims have “a right” to build. He said he was not commenting on “the wisdom” of building a mosque near Ground Zero. If that is what he meant, why didn’t he say that last night? Because he meant what he said last night, BEFORE he realized the firestorm he has created for himself and every Democrat candidate!

Too late, Jack. Speaking to reporters today, President Obama drew a sharp line under his comments last night, insisting that his defense of the right to build a mosque does not mean he supports the project. “I 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,” he said. Obama’s new stance is logically consistent with his words last night, if a bit less “clarion,” as Mike Bloomberg called the first remarks. And...

Good Saturday morning. It’s going to be one of the most memorable – and debated statements – of President Obama’s first two years in office. Remember how much attention was lavished on his remarks about the Cambridge cop-prof confrontation? Well, this is bigger -- whether you think it constitutes Obama delivering on his status as a breakthrough figure on American history, or whether you see it as a breathtaking act of elitist arrogance. PLAYBOOK FACTS OF LIFE: It’s either what you always hoped about Obama, or what you always suspected about Obama. In remarks the White House embargoed for 8:30...

Now, that's not to say that religion is without controversy. Recently, attention has been focused on the construction of mosques in certain communities -- particularly New York. Now, we must all recognize and respect the sensitivities surrounding the development of Lower Manhattan. The 9/11 attacks were a deeply traumatic event for our country. And the pain and the experience of suffering by those who lost loved ones is just unimaginable. So I understand the emotions that this issue engenders. And Ground Zero is, indeed, hallowed ground. But let me be clear. As a citizen, and as President, I believe that...