Where will President Obama mark the ninth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks? Probably not at the Pentagon, where he went last year. Likely not in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, Flight 93’s crash site, where Michelle Obama and Laura Bush are already holding a memorial event. And almost certainly not at ground zero, where a rally against the planned nearby Islamic community center would make any appearance there fraught and awkward. He’s being boxed out of all the 9/11 sites! Politico suggests Obama could decide to “mark the day with members of the military, at home or abroad,” because that’s always a safe bet.
Still, we almost wish he would make an appearance at the ground-zero rally, and give a speech on religious tolerance so stirring and persuasive that, when it’s over, one man holding an “Islam is the Devil” sign begins a slow clap that gradually builds until the entire mass of protesters is applauding, and anti-Islamic Dutch legislator Geert Wilders is left frantically shouting, “No! No! Stop it! Stop clapping you fools! Noooo!”
Few options for Barack Obama on 9/11 [Politico]
