The “Ground Zero Mosque” debate still going strong, Bill O’Reilly reiterated on last night’s Factor his discomfort with the construction of the Park51 Islamic Center to his guest, former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson. While he encountered resistance from Gerson to attack the president for his public statements on the matter, he concluded that all the talk was worthless, because there was no way a single construction crew would work to build the mosque, anyway.

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While noting that “commentators have valid questions, not just bigotry, that motivates some opposition,” Gerson argued that he had questions about the funding of the project and some questionable comments that the leadership of the project have made in public. That said, he distinguished between the role of a commentator and that of an elected official, noting that President Obama “faces a different set of responsibilities and duties than a commentator… he can’t tell these people that their holy place, their place of worship, is somehow a violation or desecration of American holy space.”

O’Reilly agreed

with the latter part, but found a halfway point that he believed the president should arrive at: “I would appeal to the Muslim community to take into account the feelings of the 9/11 families who would prefer that the mosque be built further away from Ground Zero.” He also scoffed at those on the left that cited the First Amendment as a reason to not oppose the mosque: “When was the last time the left cared about freedom of religion?”

Gerson one again reiterated that “conservatives like you” had valid questions– an assertion O’Reilly quickly swatted away: “I’m not a conservative.” And as for the logistical aspects of this project, O’Reilly predicted: “That mosque down there? Not going to get built. You know why, Mr. Gerson? There’s not one construction crew in this city, in New Jersey, or in Connecticut that is going to lift a hammer to build it.”

The segment from last night’s Factor (via Fox News) below:
Tags: 911, Bill O'Reilly, Fox News, Ground Zero Mosque, Lower Manhattan, Michael Gerson, The O'Reilly Factor