Outside the Beltway

President Obama didn’t use the words “Mission Accomplished” last night, but the message was the same.

The controversial Muslim center near Ground Zero may get public financing.

Ok, Saudi Arabia has less freedom than the US. Why do some people think that should form the basis of an argument about appropriate behavior in the US?

Not surprisingly, Radical Islamists are taking notice of the tone of debate in the United States over the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque.”

It would appear that the Pauls have different views on Park51.

The only reasons Michael Kinsley can conjure for opposing the Park51 project are bigotry and political opportunism. Unless you’re a really smart columnist.

Representative Ron Paul does not mince words on the subject of the Park51 project.

Glenn Greenwald argues that the “Ground Zero Mosque” debate is about more than just a “mosque” near Ground Zero. He’s right, but that also means the debate is likely to get uglier.

Rick Lazio is running for Governor of New York and he’s found an issue in the so-called “Ground Zero Mosque,” but it doesn’t seem to be helping him in the polls.

Yes, when you blame one group of people for the actions of other, especially irrationally so, that qualifies as scapegoating.

America’s mission in Iraq is shifting from an active combat role to a smaller security presence. But the war that gripped our attention for years is now off the radar screen.

Some of our politicians and commentators are looking to odd places for guidance over the application of fundamental American values.

Park51 opponents are trying to depict Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf as an anti-American radical. Read his speech at Daniel Pearl’s memorial service and judge for yourself.

America’s obsession over the fate of the Burlington Coat Factory in Lower Manhattan, and a general rise in anti-Islamic rhetoric, plays right into the hands of the people that are actually our enemies.

Steve Emerson has reportedly found 13 hours of tape of Cordoba Initiative chairman Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf and found him to be a “radical extremist cleric who cloaks himself in sheep’s clothing.” Does it matter?

Why are people’s views about Islam so screwed up ? Mostly because the only things they know about it tend to be the worst possible aspects of all.

A small slice of what people at the epicenter of the Park51 controversy have to say.

The Associated Press tells its reports to stop using the phrase “Ground Zero Mosque.” That’s a good thing.

Twenty percent of Americans still believe that Barack Obama is Muslim. Not only is it wrong, it says something rather disturbing about our country.

If the response to Cordoba House isn’t basically being anti-Muslim, what is it?

Strippers didn’t attack us on 9/11. Then again, neither did American Muslims.

Some Republicans are start to wonder if it’s such a good idea for their party to be so closely associated with the heated rhetoric surrounding the future of this former Burlington Coat Factory.

Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, appearing on San Francisco’s KCBS radio, called for an investigation in the efforts to stop the building of a Muslim cultural center at the hallowed Burlington Coat Factory location blocks from Ground Zero.