“The real story of the Ground Zero mosque is that the project only became feasible because of the appalling and astonishing fecklessness of the officials who were charged with the reconstruction of the site and the neighborhood all the way back in 2001.”

American journalist and conservative political commentator, born 1961

John Mordecai Podhoretz is an American journalist and conservative political commentator. Born in 1961, he has been editor of Commentary since 2009, following a career in newspaper and magazine editing, speechwriting, and political commentary. He previously ran the editorial page of the New York Post and served as deputy editor of The Weekly Standard. Podhoretz also worked as a speechwriter for President Ronald Reagan and in the George H. W. Bush administration, and he has written several books on politics.