ABC's Jake Tapper Confronts Robert Gibbs About Obama's Position On Marriage

Seizing on Bill Clinton's reversal on same-sex marriage, ABC reporter Jake Tapper asked White House press secretary Robert Gibbs to react. As usual, Gibbs ducked and bobbed. The Advocate's Kerry Eleveld has the exchange:

Tapper: Former President Bill Clinton recently said that he's basically in support of same-sex marriage. "I think it's wrong," he said, "for someone to stop someone else from getting involved in same-sex marriage." Has President Obama heard these comments? Does he have a reaction? And why is Bill Clinton wrong about this issue?

Gibbs: Well, I'm not going to get into anybody's opinion -- I'm not going to criticize anybody's opinion, least of all a former President of the United States, on something like this. I am not clear whether the President has seen that. I don't know where that was from, so I don't know if the President has seen it.

Tapper: But President Obama holds a different opinion?

Gibbs: President Obama holds the same opinion he has earlier today.

Tapper: Which is that same-sex marriage is wrong.

Gibbs: He does not support it. He supports civil unions
.
Tapper: Why does he feel differently than President Bill Clinton?

Gibbs: Because they don't agree on the issue. (Laughter.) I've not obviously spent a lot of --

Tapper: That's not really an explanation of why he feels differently. That's another word for it.

Gibbs: Well, I mean, I'm happy to -- I mean, I think the President has answered this question a number of times. I can't form a basis for why former President Clinton -- I've obviously not had a conversation with him on this issue, so I don't know what -- it's hard for me to compare some of this because I don't have the basis by which he's making that decision.

Typically Gibbsian, eh?