By Julie Shapiro
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
LOWER MANHATTAN — President Barack Obama’s flip-flopping on the mosque near Ground Zero shows that he needs better advisers, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said in a recently published interview.
In August, Obama offered strong support for the proposed mosque and community center, called Park51, at a White House Ramadan celebration. But the next morning the president backed off, questioning the wisdom of putting the center two blocks from Ground Zero.
"If you're going to stand up for the mosque Friday night, you don't walk away from it Saturday morning," Bloomberg said in an interview in the December issue of GQ.
"The president, I think, needs some better advisers. He campaigns ‘I'm gonna do A,’ and then he doesn't do it. Now he's pissed off the supporters and the opponents. You go for it."
Asked for suggestions on new advisers, Bloomberg praised David Axelrod and Rahm Emanuel but added that consistency is one of the most important qualities a political leader can have.
Bloomberg also reiterated his belief that the furor over Park51 was politically manufactured, and he predicted that it would soon die down.
