Excerpt:
President Barack Obama told CNN Saturday that in defending the right of Muslims to build a community center and mosque near ground zero in a speech on Friday night, he was "not commenting on the wisdom" of the project.
Instead, Obama said he was trying to uphold the broader principle that the government should treat "everyone equal, regardless" of religion.
His comments were seen as step back from the support he appeared to give the controversial project during a White House dinner on Friday, though a spokesman for the administration quickly moved to clarify the president's remarks.
"Just to be clear, the President is not backing off in any way from the comments he made last night," White House spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement Saturday afternoon.