Mary Cheney Stands Behind Dad on Iraq

May 8, 2006 — -- Mary Cheney, daughter of Vice President Dick Cheney, says she's received nothing but support for her new book, "Now It's My Turn: A Daughter's Chronicle of Political Life."

The book hits bookstores Tuesday.

"So far everyone's been very positive," Cheney told Diane Sawyer on "Good Morning America." "My parents, who are probably two of my toughest critics, were both very positive."

Visit GMA.ABCNEWS.COM on Tuesday to read an excerpt of the book.

Cheney, who is gay, spoke to "Primetime" last week about standing by her father and a Republican Party that openly opposes gay marriage and is proposing a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

After Thursday's "Primetime," viewers wrote in with their own questions, and Cheney answered some on "Good Morning America" today.

Defending Dad

A recent Gallup/USA Today poll shows approval ratings for both the president and vice president are at all-time lows, with 62 percent of people saying they have an unfavorable view of Dick Cheney.

Paul Peterson from New Jersey wanted to know how Mary Cheney handled the criticism of her father and his boss.

"I think it's probably hard for anybody to hear negative things about their parents," Cheney said. "Both my dad and President Bush have this ability to take the long view."

She said her father and the president focused on "what's right, rather than on what's popular," and also said she approved of how her father had handled the Iraq war.

"I think they have done the exact right thing in Iraq," she said.

Gay Rights

Many viewers wrote in with questions about Cheney's struggle to reconcile her personal belief in gay rights, including gay marriage, and the Republican Party's public opposition to it.

Katherine Haenschen of New York asked Cheney whether it bothered her that her father did not demand equal rights for his child.

Mary Cheney disagreed with the premise of the question.

"My father has made it very clear. … That freedom means freedom for everyone," Mary Cheney said. "He's stated … his opposition to the Federal Marriage Amendment, which I think is a very big deal."

Difficult Decision

Sally Brown of Nitro, W.Va., asked Mary Cheney about the most difficult decision she had to make in her life.

Cheney said there had been many, but one of them had been her decision to move from Colorado to Washington, D.C., this year.

"It was very tough to choose to leave Colorado and to leave the West," Mary Cheney said. "It was a tough choice for us, but I think one we're glad we made."

Next Phase

In 2½ years, Dick Cheney's term as vice president will be over, and Mary Cheney will enter a new phase of her life. While she does not like to speculate what she will be doing at that time, she believes the issue of gay rights will be moving faster than many people think.

"Today, same-sex couples can get married in Massachusetts and Canada and Great Britain," Mary Cheney said. "Can anyone honestly say 10 years ago they thought we'd be having this debate today?"