And that is what Barack Obama has done by defendingthe right of American Muslims to build a community center and mosque in LowerManhattan.
Politicians assume risk reluctantly and sometimeshesitantly. Often they must be forced by events to choose principle overexpediency. Contemporary commentators carp and nitpick, but history rewardssuch choicesand punishes those who make them necessary.
In Johnson's case, the judgment of time has imbuedhis decision on civil rights with an aura of wisdom that mitigates his terribleescalation of the war in Vietnam. His prediction that the Republicans wouldseek white votes by exploiting racial themes was vindicated by Richard Nixon's"Southern strategy"an electoral success that left an indelible stainon Nixon and his party.
Obama's Moral Strength
For Obama, the decision to speak out on the CordobaHouse project was inevitable because his political opponents have behaved soirresponsibly. Republican leaders, including top congressional figures andaspiring presidential candidates, have stigmatized Muslim Americans and theirfaith in a manner that brings shame on us before the world and alienates ourallies in the struggle against extremist violence.
Facing a loyal audience of Muslims at a White Housedinner celebrating the end of Ramadan, Obama was obliged to uphold the valuesof this nation's founders. He was not required to endorse the location of theCordoba House project, two blocks north of ground zero, which has abraded thesensitivities of some family members of Sept. 11 victims. He had only todeclare, as he did, that in America Muslims enjoy all the same rights as thoseof every other faith or no faith.
As the son of a Kenyan Muslim and with an Arabicmiddle name, Obama obviously carries a heavy burden in this confrontation withopportunists and bigots. It would be difficult for any president to stare downopponents who are riding high on the current wave of anger and paranoiadirected at a religious minority. It is far more difficult for this president,who has been subjected to scurrilous media campaigns questioning his own faithand even his citizenship.
Those hard circumstances emphasize his courageandthe cowardice of those who sidle away or remain silent now. The deepestresponsibility falls upon George W. Bush, who could silence the worst excessesof his fellow Republicans and conservatives with a simple statement backing hissuccessor. He knows that Obama is doing the right and lonely thing. His duty isclear, and he too must choose: either redemption or ignominy.
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