Bush Went Soft on Marriage At Least Once

A book by Matt Latimer, a speechwriter for former president George W. Bush, includes an entry about the president easing up on some of the tensions spawned by debates over gay marriage that manifested during his administration.

In Speechless, Latimer remembers Bush turning down a few lines denouncing same-sex marriage at a commencement address for Furman University students in 2008. Bush called the subject matter too "condemnatory," and added, "I'm not going to tell some gay kid in the audience that he can't get married," according to The Huffington Post.

The book, which is infuriating many in the Bush camp for divulging secrets, also says that Bush adviser Karl Rove smeared Democrats by spreading rumors through the White House. Latimer also wrote that President Bush rhetorically asked, "What is up with all these Republicans?" after hearing about the scandal erupting around former U.S. senator Larry Craig, who was caught attempting to solicit sex in a men's airport bathroom.