The View (Bill O'Reily)

Whoopie Goldberg and Joy Behar, in the above clip, made two unforgivable errors.  The first being that though they disagreed with their guest the fact remains he was their guest.  If they could not handle him they should not have had him on the show.  O'Reily's reputation as a right-wing personality has never been in question.

Secondly, they made what should have been a solid argument for freedom or religion and worship look irrational.  O'Reily used figures that were rationally disputable.  If seventy-percent of Americans do not want the mosque near ground zero it still doesn't matter.  The constitution spoke blantanly against mob-rule.  Individual liberties being sacrificed for public passions is a dangerous precedent to set.

Whoopie Goldberg and Joy Behar let emotion get the better of them, doing disservice to any good ideas they brought forth.  They mentioned Muslims killed during 9/11 but failed to elaborate.  What they should have said when O'Reily blamed Muslims for 9/11 was that they were extremists in much the same way Fred Phelps, whom protests military funerals because he thinks America is too friendly to gay people, is a Christian equivalent.  Those violent individuals, using the worst of religious ideology clearly do not represent an entire faith nor should it infringe upon said faith's right to worship, especially when the imam has long been a voice of tolerance.

The crux of O'Reily's argument was not the illegality, however but the wisdom of building the mosque.  This easily could have been debated by Whoopie or Joy as well.  The mosque expansion is blocks away from Ground Zero.  There are a plethora of other buildings, with a strip club even being about the same distance.  Manhattan is crowded and far from sacred ground.  You don't get to pick and choose locations so much in a city that congested.  So, if the space they have in Manhattan is the place they have and their numbers are growing it is only logical to want an expansion.  There wouldn't be a question if they were Jewish, or let's say Christian.  But somehow every Muslim is responsible for 9/11, despite those that died in the twin towers and despite those fighting in our armed forces and despite those who are more patriotic than anyone condemning the freedoms in the constitution.