NEW YORK -- It is hard to imagine that anything has gone unsaid about the so-called Ground Zero mosque, but we seem to be missing an important point.

The mosque should be built precisely because we don't like the idea very much. We don't need constitutional protections to be agreeable, after all.

WASHINGTON -- The legacy of 9/11 can't be fully measured even now, but perhaps the most damaging aspect can be found in our national discourse.

It was deceptive. At a White House dinner with Muslims celebrating Ramadan, Barack Obama finally weighed in on the Ground Zero mosque controversy. Incredibly, he lectured Americans about the religious freedom of Muslims "that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan."