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'Ground Zero Mosque' Presidential Paradox | United States

'Ground Zero Mosque' Presidential Paradox
Ana Marie Cox

President Barack Obama's entry into the debate over the proposed community center (mosque) in Lower Manhattan overlooking Ground Zero has puzzled White House observers. It's a deeply divisive topic, and polling shows that opponents of the construction outnumber those who are willing to let the country's long history of religious tolerance play out. And it's not as if proponents of the project were clamoring for Obama to weigh in. In fact, some worry that White House involvement may do more harm than good.

Until Obama rolled up his sleeves and joined the fray, the Ground Zero mosque issue was primarily being debated in the niches of the far right and among those of us who follow politics as a sport. (Professional wrestling is neither bloody nor corrupt enough to hold my interest.) When Obama spoke his mind Friday at a White House dinner celebrating the start of Ramadan, this quickly blew up into a Big Issue.

"I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country," Obama said. "And 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 that they will not be treated differently by their government is essential to who we are. The writ of the Founders must endure."

Compare this to another hot-button issue, one that's very much in the news and historically so polarizing that it can decide whole elections: gay marriage.

The recent victory for supporters of gay marriage -- the overturning of the California proposition that had banned them -- brought forth from the White House a simple declaration that the ban was "divisive and discriminatory" but did not, apparently, give the president any reason to reconsider his long-held personal opposition to same-sex marriage. Supporters of marriage equality have pleaded with the president to do more for their cause, and, prior to the White House's terse statement, some hoped that just such a major decision would prompt Obama to join the majority of Americans who believe in granting all of their fellow citizens the right to have their marriage recognized by the state.

So, on the one hand, Obama puts himself into the middle of a deeply divisive issue that will probably never be satisfactorily resolved. On the other, he remains all but silent on an issue that looks to be the next great victory in our country's long, slow march toward universal civil rights. Maybe the solution to this inconsistency is as insightful as it is flip: Nobody ever accused Obama of being gay.

Obama, for all his empathetic skills, has a much easier time grappling with questions of racial and religious equality than he does questions of gender and sexual equality. I think this is probably true of most men -- most straight men. It doesn't mean he won't get there, but he might need Michelle to help him.

Ana Marie Cox is the founding editor of the political blog Wonkette and is the Washington correspondent for GQ magazine. She can also be seen on MSNBC's "The Rachel Maddow Show."

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