REID OPPOSES MOSQUE – AT 6:18 P.M. ET:  In a serious blow to President Obama, his own Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, has come out against the mosque at Ground Zero.

In a statement issued by his spokesman, Jim Manley, Reid came out against the building of the Islamic center.

"The First Amendment protects freedom of religion," Manley wrote in an e-mail. "Senator Reid respects that, but thinks that the mosque should be built someplace else."

According to Fox News, other Democrats privately fear that this can lead to a wave of defections on the issue.  Obama's support is coming primarily from the chattering classes, who know that opposing the mosque may affect party invitations in Manhattan and Georgetown. 

The president's support of the mosque obviously did not go down well with the great majority of Americans.  And his arrogant, self-righteous tone didn't help. 

By the way, there is a new story out from Haaretz, a leftist Israeli newspaper, saying that the mosque project will soon be history:

Sources in New York said on Monday that Muslim religious and business leaders will announce plans to abandon the project in the next few days.

New York Governor David Patterson said last weekend that Muslim leaders had rejected outright his proposal tto swap the site in for another in Manhattan.

But several people familiar with the debate among New York's Islamic activists now claim that the leaders are convinced abandoning the site is preferable to unleashing a wave of bitterness towards Muslims.

They also hope the move will be seen as a show of sensitivity to families of the victims of the 9/11 attacks, and to the American public generally.

Sensitivity?  A little late, don't you think?

I can't confirm the accuracy of the Haaretz story, and there are no named sources cited.  If the story is true, we'll be relieved, but we'll also watch as the mosque planners are turned into martyrs by our own political left.

August 16, 2010