Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush and
one-time GOP Senate candidate Christine O'Donnell on Friday called
gay marriage a distraction in the presidential campaign.
Bush made his comments in Taipei, Focus
Taiwan News Channel reported.
Earlier this month, President Barack
Obama announced in an interview with ABC News' Robin Roberts that he
supports giving gay and lesbian couples equal access to marriage.
Bush advised Obama to focus on the
economy and steer clear from partisan political issues. In a
question and answer session, Bush called gay marriage a “distraction”
from the economy.
During an appearance on Fox News,
O'Donnell, a tea party favorite and a former Republican nominee for
the U.S. Senate from Delaware, questioned the president's timing on
the issue.
“If you look at some of the comments
being posted on Facebook, even from within the gay and lesbian
community, they're all saying, or at least a lot of them are saying,
the timing's a little suspect. And in my opinion this is a
distraction. President Obama does not have a record that he can
stand on. People are not finding jobs, they can't find a house, the
worse thing that can happen for his reelection efforts is if everyday
that goes by people are being reminded of this economic mess that his
policies have created in this country,” she said.
“What is the greatest threat to our
country right now? It's not marriage – well some people would
argue morally it is – but right now it's the fact that our economy
is about to collapse.”
(Related: On
Piers Morgan, Christine O'Donnell won't discuss gay marriage.)