The View's Behar Can't Resist Lame Partisan Swipe on Same-sex Marriage Issue

During the May 10 edition of The View, the co-hosts reflected on the issue of gay marriage and on the president’s big announcement that he believes gay couples should be able to get married. However, Behar took the opportunity to flex her partisan muscles, and take a jab at former Vice President Dick Cheney. [Video below the jump.]

During the segment, Behar proclaimed that President Obama was putting his money where his mouth was and taking a principled stand. However, the View’s token conservative, Elisabeth Hasselbeck, observed "you didn’t throw [Dick Cheney] a party when he came out in support of gay marriage."

Yet, according to Behar, Dick Cheney being in favor of gay marriage doesn’t really count, because its personal to him, as he has an openly lesbian daughter. And yet Obama’s daughters having friends who have gay parents doesn’t make Obama’s newly-rediscovered belief -- in 1996 he supported the idea when he was running for Illinois state senate -- in same-sex marriage personal?

Yesterday, you may recall, Joy Behar called the people of North Carolina “behind” the times for voting against gay marriage in a statewide referendum.

Behar will likely prove even more head-over-heels when Obama drops by the set next Tuesday as a guest.

The full transcript is below.

ABC
The View
May 10, 2012
11:01 a.m. EDT

[ Cheers and applause ] 

WHOOPI GOLDBERG: Hello! Hey, welcome to The View, Barbara, you have something you want to tell us?

BARBARA WALTERS: I do. I do, I do, Whoopi. I don't know what a crazy show this is. First, Howard Stern discussing who's hot and who's not hot. Yeah. Okay? Now then, change of scene, we are very proud to announce that this coming Tuesday, May 15th, President Obama is going to come here to The View!

[ Cheers and applause ]

WALTERS: Very happy about that. It will be, it will be as we all know, his very first interview since coming out in support of same-sex marriage. And I think we will want to – [ applause ] Well, I hope–we know how the reaction is here, But I think we want to know what the reaction is that he's had especially since 30 states have bans on same-sex marriage. Nevada, Florida, Texas, Mississippi, a lot of the south. Arkansas, Georgia, Virginia, what is this is going to mean do you think to his re-election?

JOY BEHAR: Well, I think it's going to help him with his base. It's going to help him with the left wing of the party. And that’s–I think that's what he needed to do. Also, don't you think it shows a certain core values in–the values in the guy? That he stands for things and he puts his money where his mouth is.

ELISABETH HASSELBECK: Do you feel the same way about Dick Cheney? Cause he’s had this stance for a long time, yet you didn’t throw him a party when he came out in support of gay marriage.

BEHAR: Well, I feel that Dick Cheney did it because his daughter's a lesbian and it's personal. It's like when Nancy Reagan came out for stem cell research because her husband her Alzheimer's. It’s personal.

WALTERS: Whatever the reason–

HASSELBECK: It’s always personal though. I mean, right? It’s a very personal and intimate subject. I personally, I mean I support gay marriage to the nines. I think this was something we talked about yesterday that this moment needed to happen. We needed the leadership from the President. There are some, interestingly enough, gay Republicans, who are not happy with his move on this. The Log Cabin Republicans came out to say that it's about to say it's about time you took the position that Dick Cheney has taken. This is no moment courage for him.

WALTERS: That Romney–

SHERI SHEPHERD: You can’t–   

HASSELBECK: Know that Barack Obama, our President, has long held both positions, and they said why did it take you this long to come out?

BEHAR: But their candidate, Romney is against gay marriage, is against civil unions, so what are they talking about?

HASSELBECK: They feel as though its being used as a pawn.

SHEPHERD: I was going to say, its funny how sometimes, you just can’t– you just can't win. I think as far as the states that you were talking about, I think if people were for Obama, I don't think that they're going to stop and not vote for him. I don’t think they’re going to jump the other way.

WALTERS: Do you think, Whoopi, that is going to be a big issue in the election?

GOLDBERG: I don't think it's going to be a big issue in the election. What I'm happy about, is that you know, a lot of people are asking the question why, what is there maul over? And that–I though his answer was very, very  important, because he talked to the fact that he talked to his kids and the fact that his kids had uh, same–

SHEPHERD: Friends who had same sex parents–

GOLDBERG: Friend who had same-sex parents, and the evolution, because I- its what we said yesterday, a lot of people are trying to figure this out. It seems to be this is what always happens when major changes, you know, Brown versus Board of Education.

SHEPHERD: That’s why, know, whey they say what took you so long, he kept saying, my, my, it's evolving, the thinking.

WALTERS: Yeah, but there’s something else. I just want to repeat, just in case everybody did not hear, this is going to be Tuesday. Well you wonder, what did he say to Biden? Because he said in his interview with Robin Roberts, this was not something that was planned. And maybe, I don't want to quote, but Biden may be a little premature. Because that's what brought all the search, all  headlights on. What do you think he–

(CROSSTALK)

HASSELBECK: I think he was like, really, Joe? Really Joe?

WALTERS: Couldn’t you have waited–

SHEPHERD: Always opening up your mouth, Joe-

BEHAR: Well he pushed it in–

GOLDBERG: He pushed it in. And now it’s happened.