memeorandum: Obama expands on mosque comments, said he supports ‘the right’ to build (Sean J. Miller/The Hill)

3:55 PM ET, August 14, 2010

Top Items:

Hear Washington Speak — We now have official Washington's response and take on the President's speech last night stating that Muslim-Americans have every right to build an Islamic center on private property near Ground Zero. It comes in the form of Politico's ubiquitous and closely followed “Playbook” email.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com and Balloon Juice

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

No, Mr. President — Penetrating commentary on President Obama's remarks last night on Islam, 9/11, and Ground Zero is already available. — The lawyers at Powerline dissect Obama's high-flown rhetoric: “a classic of brain-dead multiculturalism,” “the ultimate destination of multiculturalism is platitudinous stupidity.”

Discussion: Coalition to Honor Ground Zero, Israel Matzav, Taylor Marsh, Power Line, Wake up America, Conservatives4Palin.com and Michelle Malkin

Mike Allen / The Politico:

CAN YOU HEAR ME NOW? Obama strongly backs ‘Ground Zero’ mosque - Michael Gerson agrees - GOP aide: ‘will drive Middle America crazy’ - W.H. official: ‘inconvenient,’ but Obama wouldn't duck it — E-MAIL FROM AUTUMN: The beautiful and perfect Allie Ross Thomas was born at Sibley Hospital yesterday …

Discussion: USA Today, The Daily Dish, The Plum Line and The Page

Faiz Shakir / Think Progress:

Fox Hosts Agree With Obama's Defense Of Mosque: ‘He Has To Stand Up For Our Constitution’ — Reacting to President Obama's forceful defense of Muslims' rights to build a new Islamic community center near Ground Zero, Rep. Peter King (R-NY) — who believes there are “too many mosques in this country” …

Discussion: The Last Tradition, Financial Times, CNN and Mediaite

Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:

At Ramadan Iftar dinner, Obama supports new mosque on private property near Ground Zero — Text of President Obama's remarks at the White House Iftar dinner on Ramadan — Good evening. Welcome to the White House. To you, to Muslim Americans across our country, and to more than one …

Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:

Obama Strongly Backs Islam Center Near 9/11 Site — WASHINGTON — President Obama delivered a strong defense on Friday night of a proposed Muslim community center and mosque near ground zero in Manhattan, using a White House dinner celebrating Ramadan to proclaim that “as a citizen …

Discussion: CNN, ABCNEWS, Ben Smith's Blog, Guardian, Connecting.the.Dots, Bold Faith Type, Washington Monthly, The Daily Dish, FiveThirtyEight, No More Mister Nice Blog, Maggie's Farm, Outside the Beltway, The Impolitic, The Washington Note, Riehl World View, DISSENTING JUSTICE, Gawker and The Page

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:
Obama defends “Ground Zero mosque”

Discussion: Firedoglake, Politics Daily, Unqualified Offerings, News Hounds, Washington Monthly, Matthew Yglesias, DISSENTING JUSTICE, The Hill, Swampland and AMERICAblog News

Andy McCarthy / National Review: 9/11 Families Stunned by President's Support of Mosque at Ground Zero

The Politico:
Obama's comments take mosque story national

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, CBS News and ABCNEWS

Associated Press:
Obama Comes Out in Favor of Allowing Mosque Near Ground Zero

Discussion: Associated Press, Scared Monkeys, The Last Tradition, HazZzMat, The Jawa Report, No Sheeples Here, Fox News, Weasel Zippers, Sister Toldjah, Jihad Watch and The Right Scoop

Fox News:
Obama's Support for Ground Zero Mosque Draws Fire

Discussion: New York Times and Jihad Watch

Frank Gaffney / Big Peace:
Obama's Ground Zero Mosque

Discussion: Gates of Vienna, Townhall.com and National Review

Abby Phillip / The Politico:
Obama defends Ground Zero mosque

Discussion: Don Surber, Power Line and New York Magazine

John McCormack / Weekly Standard:
Obama on the Ground Zero Mosque

Discussion: Don Surber, Power Line, Tim Blair and The Plum Line

Allahpundit / Hot Air:
Obama on the Ground Zero mosque: Sounds like a plan

Discussion: RedState

Wall Street Journal:
Obama Defends Plan for Mosque Near Ground Zero

Discussion: Say Anything, Christian Science Monitor, Washington Post, Washington Wire, Doug Ross and Althouse

Jennifer Rubin / Commentary:
Obama Sides with Ground Zero Mosque Builders vs. Americans

Discussion: alicublog, The Other McCain, Zandar Versus The Stupid, Pajamas Media and Wizbang

Washington Post:
At Ramadan dinner, Obama defends plans for Ground Zero mosque

Discussion: Creeping Sharia

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Obama narrows mosque defense — 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.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and FrumForum

Sean J. Miller / The Hill:

Obama expands on mosque comments, said he supports ‘the right’ to build — Obama said that his statement on Friday didn't express support for the “wisdom” of building a mosque blocks from the 9/11 site. — President Obama expanded on his remarks about the mosque planned near ground zero during his trip to Florida Saturday.

Discussion: Alan Colmes' Liberaland

Van Helsing / Moonbattery:

Attention Google Moonbats... ...you might want to fix your autocomplete: — On a tip from John Lohman. — If you scroll further, it will say, “Obama is anti-Christ”. — ROFLMAO! — I thought it was a photoshop. Nope. I went to Google and typed it in............... ROFLMAO!

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Doug Powers / Michelle Malkin:

Helpful Tip for Obamaniacs: Turn Off Google's ‘Auto Complete’ Feature Before Searching For Info About Your Hero — By way of Moonbattery, it's time once again for “Fun with Google's ‘auto-complete’ feature.” — If you're a fan of the president, you might want to just turn it off: — That really happens.

Discussion: Say Anything

Jim Hoft / Gateway Pundit:

American Socialists Release Names of 70 Congressional Democrats in Their Ranks — The Socialist Party of America announced in their October 2009 newsletter that 70 Congressional democrats currently belong to their caucus. — This admission was recently posted on Scribd.com:

Discussion: Left Coast Rebel, alicublog, Wizbang, Sweetness & Light, Nice Deb and Freedom's Lighthouse

Priya Ganapati / Gadget Lab:

Man Scrawls World's Biggest Message With GPS ‘Pen’ — One man drove 12,238 miles across 30 states to scrawl a message that can only be viewed using Google Earth. His big shoutout: “Read Ayn Rand.” — Nick Newcomen did a road trip over 30 days that covered stretches from the Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean.

Discussion: theblogprof, Lean Left, Hullabaloo, Hit & Run, Wonkette and The New Republic

Lymari Morales / Gallup:

In U.S., Confidence in Newspapers, TV News Remains a Rarity — No more than 25% say they have a “great deal” or “quite a lot” of confidence in either — WASHINGTON, D.C. — Americans continue to express near-record-low confidence in newspapers and television news — with no more than 25% …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, Gateway Pundit, Don Surber, The Other McCain, Right View from the Left Coast, JammieWearingFool, Gawker and American Power

Sean J. Miller / The Hill:

In Gulf, Obama says he's committed to full cleanup from oil spill — President Obama commended the Coast Guard's efforts to stop the worst oil spill in American history but said the job isn't over. — “I made a commitment in my visits here that I was going to stand with you not just until …

Discussion: CNN and The Politico

Washington Post:

In weekly address, Obama returns to campaign chestnut: Warning of threat to Social Security — Reviving a scare tactic that Democrats have used before, President Obama said in his radio address Saturday that “some Republican leaders in Congress” want to privatize Social Security.