Palin sticks to personal views, calls homosexuality a choice
Tue. September 30, 2008 12:00 AM by Kevin Wayne
sarah palin at debate "boot camp"
photo credit // msnbc.com
New York City -
In an interview aired Tuesday night on the CBS Evening News, Governor Sarah Palin elaborated on energy, reproductive rights, climate change, feminism and homosexuality with CBS' Katie Couric.
"I am an open book," the vice presidential hopeful told Couric. "My record is out there and my life is out there."
Couric asked Palin, a fundamentalist Christian, about her position on gay-rights. Palin cited a homosexual friend whom she is close with before noting that she "made a choice" about her sexuality.
"I have," Palin said, "one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay and I love her dearly. And she is not my gay friend. She is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I would have made."
Palin is opposed to abortion rights, including in cases of incest and rape and believes gay partners should have none of the rights of marries couples. Her history of opposing equal rights for gays and lesbians has come under heavy fire from gay rights organizations.
Wasilla Bible Church, Palin's home church, recently promoted a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.
The nomination of the Alaska Governor initially energized evangelicals within the Republican Party yet support for Palin has begun to erode among some conservatives.
Conservative columnists George Will and David Brooks have criticized the judgment of GOP nominee Sen. John McCain in selecting Palin as his running mate.
Writing in the conservative National Review, columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, said Palin should step down.
"Palin's recent interviews with Charles Gibson (ABC News), Sean Hannity (Fox News) and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League," Parker wrote.
"As we've seen and heard more from John McCain's running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem," she added.
Palin spent much of Tuesday in Republican "boot camp" cramming for this Thursday's vice presidential debate with Democratic vice presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden.
Couric's exclusive interviews with Palin have given the CBS Evening News a slight boost in the ratings.
View the full interview:
"I am an open book," the vice presidential hopeful told Couric. "My record is out there and my life is out there."
Couric asked Palin, a fundamentalist Christian, about her position on gay-rights. Palin cited a homosexual friend whom she is close with before noting that she "made a choice" about her sexuality.
"I have," Palin said, "one of my absolute best friends for the last 30 years who happens to be gay and I love her dearly. And she is not my gay friend. She is one of my best friends who happens to have made a choice that isn't a choice that I would have made."
Palin is opposed to abortion rights, including in cases of incest and rape and believes gay partners should have none of the rights of marries couples. Her history of opposing equal rights for gays and lesbians has come under heavy fire from gay rights organizations.
Wasilla Bible Church, Palin's home church, recently promoted a conference that promises to convert gays into heterosexuals through the power of prayer.
The nomination of the Alaska Governor initially energized evangelicals within the Republican Party yet support for Palin has begun to erode among some conservatives.
Conservative columnists George Will and David Brooks have criticized the judgment of GOP nominee Sen. John McCain in selecting Palin as his running mate.
Writing in the conservative National Review, columnist Kathleen Parker, a former Palin supporter, said Palin should step down.
"Palin's recent interviews with Charles Gibson (ABC News), Sean Hannity (Fox News) and now Katie Couric have all revealed an attractive, earnest, confident candidate. Who Is Clearly Out Of Her League," Parker wrote.
"As we've seen and heard more from John McCain's running mate, it is increasingly clear that Palin is a problem," she added.
Palin spent much of Tuesday in Republican "boot camp" cramming for this Thursday's vice presidential debate with Democratic vice presidential hopeful Sen. Joe Biden.
Couric's exclusive interviews with Palin have given the CBS Evening News a slight boost in the ratings.
View the full interview: