President Obama is expected to discuss his views on same-sex marriage in an interview slated for this afternoon with Robin Roberts of ABC News. Gay marriage has been a flashpoint since Vice President Joe Biden said Sunday he is “absolutely is comfortableâ€Â with same-sex couples marrying, compounded by the Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan, echoing those comments publicly Monday. 18 months ago President Obama said he was “evolving” on same-sex marriage. Yesterday, White House spokesperson Jay Carney today told reporters that he anticipates the President might “describe his personal views†soon, either in an interview or press conference to the American people. The interview is not expected to be aired live, but released in part this afternoon, then aired tomorrow on Good Morning America.
“Mr. Obama [is] in an increasingly awkward position, which was highlighted by a series of news conferences with his press secretary, Jay Carney, who has fielded dozens of questions about where the president stands on same-sex marriage since Sunday,” the New York Times today reported:
The sudden booking suggests an interest on the part of the White House to get Mr. Obama in front of cameras, albeit in a carefully controlled interview setting, as soon as possible.
ABC secured the interview with Mr. Obama on Tuesday afternoon, according to two people involved in the planning. It will take place at the White House. The interview was so hastily arranged, in fact, that Ms. Roberts was still in New York on Wednesday morning to co-host “Good Morning Americaâ€â€“ and was planning on returning to New York right after the interview, because her mother is visiting and the two have dinner plans on Wednesday evening.
It will be a “wide-ranging interview,†an ABC News spokesman said.
After the huge loss in North Carolina yesterday, any support for same-sex marriage from the President might be viewed by some activists as welcome, and by others as too little, too late.