I’ve had the seeds of a post on the whole “Ground Zero mosque” (which is really neither at “ground zero” nor a mosque) controversy for, heck, a couple of weeks now, but haven’t come up with anything I’ve been happy with.

Which is just as well, because this person just wrote what I feel is the definitive post on the topic.

However, since the President weighing in on the topic (on, what I might add, is the right side of the issue), there’s probably a little bit more to comment on.

I don’t want to comment so much on the President’s remarks, which were sensible, diplomatic, and legally sound (fully in line with the US Constitution, and not to mention, seemingly in line with the opinions of the “Founding Fathers”, including President George Washington) but rather his opponents’ reaction to it, and their intent to make this stated opinion an issue in the coming election, claiming that the President is out of touch with the American people.

Here’s my take on that: It’s quite possible that the President is out of touch with a good chunk of America – I keep seeing references to “polls” (never sourced) that 60 percent of Americans are against this community center, some with violent (and often uninformed) intensity. However, in this case, I think the fact that the President’s opinion differs from (some interpretations of) the masses is a good thing.

Why? Because there’s a difference between the correct answer and the popular one, and as a leader, the President of the United States ought to be out there championing what’s right, proper, and just, and not simply telling the masses what the want to hear, even when the masses are wrongheaded on an issue, and in this case, that’s exactly what President Obama is doing here; he’s leading, not adhering syncophantically to poll numbers.

Will such a stance hurt his party’s chances in November? Perhaps, but I don’t think it’s going to be that big a deal. First, it’s only mid-August: they’ll be half a dozen “earth shattering” scandals between now and then; this one will be shunted to the background, if not forgotten entirely. Secondly, the folks who are frothing with butthurt about this were never going to vote for Democrats anyway. If the Democrats are going to lose votes they might have gotten, it’s going to be for their habit of rolling over to criticism too quickly once too often, and for criticising the base through the White House Press Secretary and dampening enthusiasm.

But, then, the first point colors the second; it’s a long time until election day, and more moves like this could do a lot to encourage progressive enthusiasm for the mid-terms. I’m going to try to hold out hope that there’s more of this kind of thing coming.