RIGHT FROM HIS ELITE MOUTH – AT 8:55 P.M. ET:  President Obama has now spoken out about the mosque at Ground Zero.  Where did he make his statement?  Why, natch, at a White House dinner celebrating the Muslim holiday of Ramadan.  Nothing like some groveling, which this president does so well.

We're alerted to the president's statement by Andrew Malcolm at the L.A. Times's Top of the Ticket blog:

...as a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as anyone else in this country. 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 unshakeable. The principle that people of all faiths are welcome in this country, and will not be treated differently by their government, is essential to who we are. The writ of our Founders must endure.

Oh, please.  This is standard elitist stuff.  The elites, when they run out of logical arguments, always run up the "rights" flag.  This isn't a matter of rights.  It's a matter of what's right.  It's a matter of showing some respect for the sensitivities of others.  As we've pointed out here before, there is no Japanese Shinto shrine at Pearl Harbor.  Pope John Paul II, a giant of our time, ordered Carmelite nuns to remove a convent from Auschwitz because he understood the sensitivities of others.  If you want respect, it's a good idea to show some. 

The president did speak eloquently about the difference between those who attacked us on 9-11 and true, moderate Islam.  But I do wish he'd left out the part about the Ground Zero mosque.  If you want to make a remark like that, make it in New York in front of the families who lost loved ones.  That's the kind of spine this president just doesn't have.

August 13, 2010