<![CDATA[RealClearPolitics - Articles by Karen Tumulty and Michael Shear]]>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/authors/?id=21327Author <![CDATA[Obama Backtracks on Mosque Comments]]> Sun, 15 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0500 One day after President Obama defended the freedom of Muslims to build an Islamic complex near New York's Ground Zero, he offered a less forceful version of that position on Saturday: Yes, Muslims have that right, Obama said -- but that doesn't mean he believes it is the right thing for them to do.

Speaking to reporters during a family vacation visit to Panama City, Fla., Obama reiterated the stand he took Friday night at a White House dinner observing the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. "In this country we treat everybody equally and in accordance with the law, regardless of race, regardless of religion," Obama said.

But he went on to explain that he was not endorsing the...]]>