Rick Warren had a surprisingly candid response to Ann Curry's question as to whether he would change his views on homosexuality if it were established that people are born gay. The pastor of the Saddleback Church, explaining why such a finding wouldn't cause him to change his position, observed that he is inclined to want to have sex with every beautiful woman he sees, but that that doesn't make it right.
Curry interviewed Warren for a Dateline segment that will be aired tonight on NBC. As noteworthy as Warren's candor was Curry's ostentatious display of righteous liberal anger, captured in the screengrab, while asking Warren whether he is homophobic.
View video here.
Morning Joe aired the clip today at 6:11 AM ET.
ANN CURRY: Your position [on gay marriage] has raised the spectre that you are homophobic.
Warren responds with a hearty laugh.
CURRY: You laugh, but that is why gay people are angry.
RICK WARREN: Well, I could give you a hundred --
CURRY: Are you homophobic?
WARREN: I don't know any church in America that's done more to help the gay community, particularly with AIDS, than Saddleback. But the hate speech against me is incendiary.
CURRY: If science finds that this is biological, that people are born gay, would you change your position?
WARREN: No, and the reason why is because we all have biological predispositions. I'm naturally inclined to have sex with every beautiful woman I see. But that doesn't mean it's the right thing to do.
Back in the studio, Willie Geist couldn't suppress a chuckle as he let viewers know the rest of the interview could be seen tonight at 9. That in turn led to his repartee.
JOE SCARBOROUGH: Are you a member of that church, Willie?
WILLIE GEIST No, sir. No I am not, sir.
The married Geist, clearly wanting nothing to do with Warren's pronouncement on men's nature, quickly threw the discussion to the morning's guests.
Credit Warren for his candor. At the same time, it's instructive to watch Curry go after the pastor. You can almost hear her inner dialogue: "OK, Ann, your liberal constituencies are watching. Here's where I really have to go after this guy and display my righteous anger." Her facial expression is both telling and, in its seeming artifice, amusing.
