President Barack Obama’s remarks about the Ground Zero mosque have turned the controversy into a campaign issue.
With Republicans opposed to the Ground Zero mosque, Democrats will be asked whether they agree with Obama or with the majority of the American people who say: Not there, not now, not ever.
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who is in a fight for his political life, has distanced himself from Obama.
Reid’s spokesman, Jim Manley, said in a statement:
The First Amendment protects freedom of religion. Senator Reid respects that, but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else.
The latest Gallup daily tracking poll shows that more than half of Americans disapprove of Obama’s job performance.
Frank Newport, Gallup’s editor in chief, said:
It’s certainly a reasonable hypothesis that the mosque comments are a cause of his lower approval ratings and his higher disapproval.
Gallup’s latest update on congressional voting preferences finds Republicans have a seven percentage-point lead over Democrats, 50 percent to 43 percent, their best showing thus far in 2010.
The New York Times, meanwhile, reports:
The remarks were a rare instance in this campaign season when Republicans have strayed from a focus on economic issues in their push for substantial gains in the House and Senate in November. The intensity of their attacks showed that they do not appear worried about the risk of being seen as intolerant or not supportive of the right to freedom of religion.Some leading Democrats said it was the president’s role to stand up for constitutional rights in the mosque dispute.
Democrats can delude themselves into thinking they’re standing on higher ground. Come November, they will find they are standing on shaky ground with the American people.
