ABC News to Interview Obama as Gay Marriage Question Persists

The interview comes just days after Vice President Joe Biden and Education Secretary Arne Duncan’s pro-marriage equality comments, and less than 24 hours after North Carolina voters approved Amendment One, which will constitutionally prohibit same-sex marriage and all other forms of relationship recognition for gay and lesbian couples. The Obama campaign spoke out against the amendment in March; a campaign spokesman in North Carolina said Wednesday that the president was "disappointed" that the measure had passed.

Earlier today, The New York Times’ Caucus Blog reported:

President Obama, who is under mounting pressure to clarify his thinking on same-sex marriage after top aides publicly embraced it in recent days, will sit down for an interview with ABC News on Wednesday during which he is likely to be questioned about his “evolving” views on the issue, according to people familiar with the matter.

The interview, to be conducted by Robin Roberts, an anchor on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and was secured in the wake of a declaration by Mr. Obama’s vice president, Joseph R. Biden, on Sunday that he was “absolutely comfortable” with same-sex marriages.

ABC secured the interview with Mr. Obama on Tuesday afternoon, according to two people involved in the planning. It will take place at the White House. [...]

The sudden booking suggests an interest on the part of the White House to get Mr. Obama in front of cameras, albeit in a carefully controlled interview setting, as soon as possible. (Read the full post here.)

The White House has not commented on the interview nor its content, though an ABC spokesperson said the sit down with President Obama would be "wide-ranging."

But speculation has been building following news of the upcoming ABC interview. Earlier this morning The Atlantic's Marc Ambinder tweeted, "So do I think President Obama will endorse same-sex marriage today? Yes. Yes I do."

During a campaign event Wednesday in Colorado, presumptive GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney dodged questions from reporters on gay marriage, though he told a local Fox News affiliate in an interview, "I indicated my view, which is I do not favor marriage between people of the same gender, and I do not favor civil unions if they are identical to marriage other than by name. My view is the domestic partnership benefits, hospital visitation rights, and the like are appropriate, but that the others are not."