Obama and the mosque | Michael Tomasky

Yes, I'm leaving for the beach momentarily, and my daughter is in my lap and for the moment not crying, but I felt obliged to write a quick take on Obama and the lower Manhattan mosque.

Good for him for saying what he did. There were a hundred excellent reasons to duck it and stay out of it. But what the hell. He's the president. A president ought to lead sometimes. Say what he actually thinks about something. Hang the consequences.

This is going to be demagogued to death in the next few days. ...