When President Obama used the occasion of the White House Ramadan iftar dinner to announce his support for the Ground Zero mosque, some of his partisans rushed to praise what they viewed as a ringing endorsement of the controversial project.

“Obama’s forceful speech yesterday expressing strong support for Cordoba House…will go down as one of the finest moments of his presidency,” wrote Washington Post reporter Greg Sargent. Obama, Sargent said, “isn’t hedging a bit: He’s saying that opposing the group’s right to build the Islamic center is, in essence, un-American.”

“CAP Supports Building of Mosque Near Ground Zero,” was the headline of a press release from the liberal think tank Center for American Progress. “President Obama is upholding the best traditions of our Constitution in supporting the right of Muslim Americans to build a mosque and community center on private property near Ground Zero.”