Michelle Obama Refuses To Enter Gay Marriage Debate

Is Michelle Obama trying to make the President’s position on gay marriage “evolve” a little more quickly? That’s what former New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevey suggested last night during a CNN interview. However, the First Lady’s office was quick to counter that her thoughts on the issue are actually none of our business.

Politico reports that last night McGreevey, who resigned seven years ago after admitting that he’s had an affair with a man and is a “gay American,” was interviewed by former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer on CNN’s In The Arena. After bonding over what it’s like to step down as governor after a humiliating sex scandal (we’re presuming), the topic turned to New York legalizing same-sex marriage. McGreevey said of President Obama’s position on gay marriage, “If he could only listen to Michelle more often.”

If you’re confused, that’s because Michelle has never come out in support of marriage equality. Perhaps she and McGreevey have had some heart-to-hearts about her thoughts on gay rights behind closed doors, but all she’s ever said on the subject is that she supports her husband’s ambiguous position. At a 2008 fundraiser she said:

“Barack believes that we must fight for the world as it should be, a world where together we work to reverse discriminatory laws like DOMA and ‘don’t ask, don’t tell … The world as it is should be one that rejects discrimination of all kinds.”

When reporters started asking the First Lady to explain what the hell McGreevey was referring to, her office released this statement: “Mrs. Obama has never made any public statements about same-sex marriage.”

Okay, so was McGreevey just imagining that gay marriage is the sort of thing the First Lady would get behind, or has Michelle been circling newspaper op-eds and leaving them on the President’s nightstand? We don’t know, and clearly the White House would like everyone to just drop it. If we had to guess, we’d say her position is the same as her husbands: She supports gay marriage, but not until after the 2012 election.

Jim McGreevey’s Message For President Obama On Gay Marriage [Politico]
Michelle Obama Denies Supporting Gay Marriage [Politico]