As Talking Points Memo reported, former Bush administration Solicitor General Ted Olson today expressed support for building an Islamic community center in lower Manhattan, saying, "[I]t may not make me hap-- popular with some people, but I think probably the president was right about this."

Olson, as TPM noted, lost his wife, the late conservative author and activist Barbara Olson, on the day of the attacks. She was on board the hijacked plane flown into the Pentagon. Appearing on today's edition of MSNBC's Andrea Mitchell Reports, Olson said:

OLSON: Well, it may not make me popular with some people, but I think probably the president was right about this. I do believe that people of all religions have a right to build edifices, or structures, or places of religious worship or study, where the community allows them to do it under zoning laws and that sort of thing, and that we don't want to turn an act of hate against us by extremists into an act of intolerance for people of religious faith. And I don't think it should be a political issue. It shouldn't be a Republican or Democratic issue, either. I believe Governor Christie from New Jersey said it well -- that this should not be in that political, partisan marketplace.

While hosting an iftar dinner celebrating Ramadan on August 14, President Obama stated: “As a citizen, and as President, I believe that Muslims have the same right to practice their religion as everyone else in this country. And that includes the right to build a place of worship and a community center on private property in Lower Manhattan, in accordance with local laws and ordinances. This is America. And our commitment to religious freedom must be unshakeable.”

As we documented, Obama was roundly attacked by conservatives for his comments, with right-wing commentator Pamela Geller asserting that Obama “has, in effect, sided with the Islamic jihadists.” Conservatives also responded to Obama's comments by falsely claiming that opponents of the proposed community center had not talked about restricting Muslims' religious freedom, when in fact they had.

Watch Olson's comments: