Rove accuses Obama of political stumble
The former adviser of President George W. Bush, Karl Rove, accused President Obama of interfering the New York Islamic center debate.
He says that the president should have not got mixed in a local controversy which he previously avoided. Rove considers that this really damaged America’s image in the world by saying that he believes Muslims have the right to build a mosque wherever they choose and then take back his words. The White House denied that Obama has changed his statement and White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton declared that it is not the president’s job to approve or disapprove local projects but he has the responsibility ”to stand up for the constitutional principle of religious freedom and equal treatment for all Americans”. The Republicans took the opportunity to demand the president and the Democrats to express their opposition or their support towards the proposed cultural center.
The Democrats are divided by the debate and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is opposing the construction of the Islamic center few blocks from ground zero. Rove says that the republicans are making too much of a fuss of this subject and this might damage the image of the United States to the Muslim world. However, he thinks that Obama is the only one to blame for the start of this national debate. Obama attacked the Republicans at an fundraiser for Senator Patty Murray in Seattle, saying that slogan that was used in the campaign when winning the elections “Yes, we can” turned out into “No, we can’t” when speaking about mosques, helping small businesses, middle-class tax cuts, clean-energy jobs, more affordable college fees or Wall Street reform.
