'No regrets' on mosque issue, Obama says

[kpete]

Source: MSNBC

'No regrets' on mosque issue, Obama says
President weighs in as poll of N.Y. state shows strong opposition

NEW YORK — With the controversy still swirling over plans for a mosque near the former World Trade Center, President Obama said Wednesday that he had "no regrets" about his involvement in the debate.

Answering a reporter's question at a political event in Columbus, Ohio, the president initially paused, then turned to a TV camera and said, "The answer is — no regrets."

Obama entered the fray Friday, saying he supported the right of Muslims to build there. Amid political backlash a day later, the president said he was commenting on religious freedom, not the exact location of the mosque .

With Republicans trying to wrest control of Congress from Obama's Democrats, and facing a tough re-election battle of his own, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid broke with the president over the issue Monday , saying the mosque should be built elsewhere.


Read more: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/38755673/ns/politics-more_politics/

[bvar22]

1. Of course he has no regrets.

He has successfully claimed BOTH sides.

For it,
AND
Against it.

http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/mon-august-16-2010/mosque-erade

I found the above clip and Stewart's comment ("Thats walking it back a bit") amusing, especially in relationship to this thread:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=433x411504

[impik]

2. What a bullshit spin. He did not walk back anything. Both you and JS are clowns

Only JS is very good at it.

[bvar22]

5. Well if YOU say so,

but I'll stand with Jon on this one.


Is Jon On the Bus,
or Under the Bus this week?
It is so hard to keep up.

[Fruittree]

10. Agreed...

[dflprincess]

8. I liked Stewart's new campaign slogan

"Yes we can - but should we?"

[Hulk]

3. Only because we are such a divided, screwed up nation atm....

....can you make a statement regarding some bull shit like a mosque at the Burlington coat factory, three blocks away (that was conceived LONG BEFORE 9/11) can one be labeled as "unAmerican", etc. by a HUGE group of ignorant bastards.

This country is really sick. VERY, VERY sick! I'm ashamed of so much of what I once was proud. I know the majority are decent, intelligent and hard working folks. But this "minority" consists of MILLIONS of idiots.

[onehandle]

4. Sorry, but Obama and the White House screwed this one up.

They played right into the tearacists' hands.

[ProSense]

6. Yeah, defending the Constitution is always a screw up. n/t

[onehandle]

7. Are you talking about when he defended it or didn't defend it?

That's what I'm talking about.

[ProSense]

9. He defend it.

The organizers have a Constitutional right to build the Mosque. Period.

[No Elephants]

11. AFAIK, not one single person of any political Party said they don't have a legal right.

EVERYone, Democrat or Republican agrees on that. the only controversy is over whether they should, not over whether they can. On the only issue of controversy, Obama has chosen to remain silent.

[RaleighNCDUer]

15. And his subsequent comment "I'm not commenting on if they 'should'"

was a comment of if they should.

That's walking it back - or at least tiptoeing it back.

[maddezmom]

12. kick

[sabra]

13. Obama says he has 'no regrets' over his comments on controversial mosque near ground zero

Source: Chicago Trib/AP

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Despite criticism from Republicans and others, President Barack Obama said Wednesday he has "no regrets" over the comments he made about the right of Muslims to build an Islamic center near the former site of the World Trade Center in New York.

Obama's latest comment was in response to a question shouted by a reporter as he was leaving a townhall-style meeting on the economy in Ohio.

The president inserted himself into the debate over the proposed Islamic center, which includes a mosque, when he said last week Muslims "have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country" and that included building the Islamic center in lower Manhattan. A day later, Obama told reporters that he wasn't endorsing the specifics of the plan.

His position has drawn criticism from those who say that the $100 million Islamic center should not be built two blocks away from the site of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Republicans have seized on the issue, with many trying to force Democrats to either stand with the president or buck him.

Read more: http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/sns-ap-us-ground-zero-mosque-obama,0,4751290.story

[VMI Dem]

14. Of course they have the right to build there. I won't comment on the wisdom of doing so.