On ABC's World News, Wednesday, Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts
hyped Barack Obama's endorsement of gay marriage as a "historic,"
"riveting" "cultural event."
The interview played more as an infomercial
for the President, featuring long stretches of Obama talking with no
pesky, interrupting questions.
Anchor Diane Sawyer enthused, "Well, as we said this is a historic cultural and political event in this country."
In the tease for the interview, Sawyer trumpeted, "Tonight on World News,
a historic ABC News interview. President Obama takes a stand on same
sex marriage." In the segment, Roberts didn't push the President on why his "evolution" took 17 months.
Obviously,
ABC was proud of its exclusive, but the network chose to uncritically
play the President's comments without interruption. This is an example
of one such "answer.":
OBAMA: I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should
be treated fairly and equally. And I was sensitive to the fact that for a
lot of people, the word marriage was something that evokes very
powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth. But I have to tell
you that over the course of several years, as I talked to friends and
family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are
incredibly committed in monogamous relationships, same-sex
relationships, who are raising kids together. When I think about those
soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on
my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that don't ask, don't tell
is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage,
at a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally, it is
important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples
should be able to get married. You know, it's interesting. Some of this
is also generational. You know, Malia and Sasha, they've got friends
whose parents are same-sex couples. You know, there have been times
where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we've
been talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha,
it couldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be
treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them. And frankly, that's
the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.
Now, a follow-up segment by Jake Tapper did feature an African American
barber who opposed the President. However, in a segment on Thursday's Good Morning America, Tapper let the President off the hook for the flip-flopping charge.
The journalist spun that America is in the midst of a "national
flip-flop" on gay marriage. According to Tapper, this is why "the public
is not regarding this as a flip-flop by the President."
Of course, considering that one of Obama's main critiques of Mitt
Romney is that the Republican is a flip-flopper, this is a convenient,
generous rationalization.
On Thursday's GMA, Roberts admitted to getting "chills" from the President's declaration.
A transcript of the May 9 World News segment can be found below:
6:30 tease
DIANE SAWYER: Tonight on World News, a historic ABC News interview. President Obama takes a stand on same sex marriage.
BARACK OBAMA: I think same sex couples should be able to get married.
SAWYER: Tonight, our Robin Roberts with her interview, the reaction and how this effects the presidential race.
...
SAWYER: Good evening. We begin with a historic interview hours ago,
President Obama exclusively to ABC's Robin Roberts and announcing
something no US president has ever said, that he supports same-sex
marriage. For years, he only endorsed civil unions, claiming his
position on the polarizing question of marriage was still, quote,
evolving. Then last weekend, Vice President Biden surprised everyone by
seeming to endorse gay marriage. And today, the President himself told
Robin how and why his own thinking has changed.
ROBIN ROBERTS: Mr President, are you still opposed to same-sex marriage?
OBAMA: I've always been adamant that gay and lesbian Americans should
be treated fairly and equally. And I was sensitive to the fact that for a
lot of people, the word marriage was something that evokes very
powerful traditions, religious beliefs and so forth. But I have to tell
you that over the course of several years, as I talked to friends and
family and neighbors, when I think about members of my own staff who are
incredibly committed in monogamous relationships, same-sex
relationships, who are raising kids together. When I think about those
soldiers or airmen or marines or sailors who are out there fighting on
my behalf and yet feel constrained, even now that don't ask, don't tell
is gone, because they are not able to commit themselves in a marriage,
at a certain point, I've just concluded that for me personally, it is
important for me to go ahead and affirm that I think same-sex couples
should be able to get married. You know, it's interesting. Some of this
is also generational. You know, Malia and Sasha, they've got friends
whose parents are same-sex couples. You know, there have been times
where Michelle and I have been sitting around the dinner table and we've
been talking about their friends and their parents and Malia and Sasha,
it couldn't dawn on them that somehow their friends' parents would be
treated differently. It doesn't make sense to them. And frankly, that's
the kind of thing that prompts a change in perspective.
ROBERTS: Did you discuss this with Mrs Obama, the same-sex marriage issue?
OBAMA: I did.
ROBERTS: Was that something-
OBAMA: No, no, this is something that, you know, we've talked about
over the years and she feels the same way that I do. And that is that in
the end, the values that I care most deeply about and she cares most
deeply about is how we treat other people. We're both practicing
Christians and obviously, this position may be considered to put us at
odds with the views of others. But, you know, when we think about our
faith, the thing, you know, at root that we think about is not only
Christ sacrificing himself on our behalf but it's also the golden rule.
You know, treat others the way you want to be treated.
SAWYER: It is a riveting interview, Robin. I wondered about Vice
President Biden. Everybody presumed that Vice President Biden had forced
the President's hand. Did he talk about it?
ROBERTS: I did ask him about that, Diane. And the President had a big
smile on his face when I brought up Joe Biden's name, and said that it
was an authentic response by the vice president when he said he was
absolutely comfortable, is absolutely comfortable with same-sex
marriage. And the President indicated that this was a discussion that
they had been having, and that they would have had perhaps prior to the
election and the vice president may have had just a hand in jumping the
gun just a little bit.
SAWYER: As everyone says, Biden will be Biden, right?
ROBERTS: The President said that himself, yes.
SAWYER: All right, Robin. Well, as we said this is a historic cultural
and political event in this country. And head on back to New York.
Great interview, thanks.
-- Scott Whitlock is the senior news analyst for the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
