The former Republican president who won his second term by taking advantage of excitement about 2004 ballot measures to ban same sex marriage in Ohio recently hinted that his views may now be softening.
President George W. Bush (R) was asked about marriage equality by a reporter in Zambia last week and replied, "I shouldn’t be taking a speck out of someone else’s eye when I have a log in my own."
In an interview that aired on Sunday, Jonathan Karl of ABC News asked the former president to explain the remark.
"I meant that I wasn’t going to answer the question then, and I’m not going to answer it now in terms of the political question," Bush insisted. "I just don’t want to wade back in the debate. I’m out of politics."
"But I meant it’s very important for people not to be overly critical of someone else until you’ve examined your own heart."
Karl wondered if that suggested that his views had "evolved" since the time that he proposed a constitutional amendment to ban marriage rights for LGBT people.
"Jonathan, you didn’t hear my answer," Bush laughed. "I’m not gonna wade back into those kinds of issues. I’m out of politics."
"The only way I can really make news is either criticize the President, which I don’t want to do, criticize my own party, or wade in on a controversial issue," he pointed out.
