MSNBC host Alex Wagner mused Friday that it "remains to be discussed and determined" whether the fact that Sen. Rob Portman (R., Ohio) has a gay son affected his chances to be Mitt Romney's running mate:
CAPEHART: It's been interesting; on my Twitter feed, there are a lot of progressives out there who are saying, "Yeah, it's great that he's done this, but why does it take someone in his own family to get him to show some empathy?" I understand where they're coming from, but as Michael said, or I think you said it: Portman is a big deal in the Republican Party. He's part of the establishment, he's been in the House, he was OMB director, he was U.S. trade representative--
WAGNER: He was going to be vice president if Mitt Romney had won the White House. Well, theoretically until--I don't know. Maybe--it remains to be discussed and determined whether the fact that Portman had a gay son in any way affected his chances at being a VP nominee.
CAPEHART: Well, he's probably lucky--very happy he dodged that bullet.
Portman announced Friday his support for same-sex marriage; he attributes the change in his position to one of his sons coming out two years ago. Portman said in an interview with CNN that he disclosed his son's sexual orientation to the Romney campaign during his vetting.
"Do you think that was a deal breaker?" CNN's Dana Bash asked Portman.
"No, I really don't," he replied.
"How can you be sure?"
"Well, because, you know, they told me," Portman said.
Had Portman been selected as the vice presidential nominee and Romney won, he would not have been the first Republican vice president with a gay child; former Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter Mary is a lesbian.