I think Richard Cohen deserves some credit here for getting the so-called Ground Zero Mosque controversy right:
The inclination to go from the particular to the general -- to blame a people for the acts of a few -- is what has always fueled pogroms and race riots. History shows that it is a natural tendency and it will literally run riot if not controlled. It is the solemn obligation of elected leaders to restrain such an urge -- to be moral as well as political leaders. Obama almost pulled that off, but he flinched.
Yes, he couldn't.
Some people might respond that Jews were not actually responsible for the crimes of which they were accused to justify pogroms against the Jews. This makes about as much sense as people arguing that some victims of lynchings actually committed crimes. These were acts meant to remind particular groups of people that their proper place was in being ground to a fine dust under society's heel, not to punish actual wrongdoing. The act of holding a group of people collectively responsible for the crimes of a few, whether real or imagined, is monstrous.
I will say that "political leaders" has to include more than just Obama. While his response could have been clearer, Republicans would have recoiled no matter what. It's the responsibility of the Republican leadership to restrain the uglier impulses within their own party, not ride the wave. This never should have gotten to the level where the president needed to comment, and it only got to this point because of Republican opportunism and Democratic cowardice.
