The White House was asked today to expand further on the President's weekend remarks about a mosque/community center near Ground Zero in New York. White House Deputy Press Secretary Bill Burton said 'politics' played no role in what President Obama said on either Friday or Saturday, even as Republicans continue to slam the Obama Administration over the dispute.

Here is a transcript from today's Q&A aboard Air Force One:

 Q    Why did the President decide to weigh in on the mosque issue?  It seems like a local politics issue that -- and he keeps on wading into local politics and sort of stirring up a little bit of tension.  Why did he choose to weigh into this issue?

     MR. BURTON:  The President thinks that it's his obligation to speak out when he thinks issues of the Constitution are -- when issues of the Constitution arise.  And so, in this case, he decided to state clearly how he feels about making sure that people are treated equally, that there is a fairness and that our bedrock principles are upheld.

     Q    Can I ask you, have you had any -- has the President heard from or reached out to any world leaders, especially in Arab -- in Muslim countries, about this mosque issue?  Have you guys heard on the international front whether this mosque issue is having an impact abroad?

     MR. BURTON:  No.  The President spoke to this because it's an issue domestically about our Constitution.  But to the extent that our Constitution is something that is a real shining light about our nation and helps to give people around the world a better understanding of who we are, then, sure.

     Q    I mean, is there a worry that anti-Muslim sentiment in the United States might be impacting U.S. foreign policy in Afghanistan, in Iraq, in Pakistan?

     MR. BURTON:  That's sort of a broader existential question that's separate from the issue at hand here, and not something that I've talked specifically to the President about.

     Q    Republicans pushed back pretty hard against the President on the mosque issue.  I mean, do you think they're running -- does the President think that they're running a risk, a political risk -- not a political risk internationally, but a risk internationally?

     MR. BURTON:  Are Republicans -- do Republicans have an international risk as a result of -- I can't speak to the politics of what the Republicans are doing.  And the President didn't do this because of the politics.  He spoke about it because he feels he has an obligation as the President to address this. 

     Q    Does he think from his perspective that the matter is done for now?  He's said his piece and he's going to let it go its course?  I mean, is this kind of a done issue for him?

     MR. BURTON:  I think we've had a pretty fulsome conversation about it.  And unfortunately, me and Gibbs and Pfeiffer don't have any control over what happens on cable television or in your newspapers.  So I assume that people will continue to talk about it, but I think that we've addressed this to a pretty full extent.

     Q    Is this a debate, though, that you guys want to have?  Is this a discussion that you think the nation should have about sort of the appropriate role and should this mosque be built?

     MR. BURTON:  I think that it's a debate that was had and we've weighed in.