Former Chief of Staff to George W. Bush Karl Rove says he can picture the next GOP candidate for president supporting gay marriage.

Rove appeared on the "This Week" roundtable where he said, "I could" in regards to whether or not he could see a Republican nominee for president support gay marriage.

The Republican Party is known for being closed-minded when it comes to certain issues, gay marriage and abortion are among them.

Rove's statement comes days after Ohio Republican Senator Rob Portman changed his position on gay marriage and became the only sitting senator in the GOP to support same sex marriage.

Portman has a reputation as a social conservative but has begun to change his position after learning that his son is gay. Other members of the GOP have criticized Portman for his change of heart.

Those who criticize Portman say his change of heart is not believable. They say he did not "take a stand for other people's children" so why should he stand up for his own when he was so adamantly opposed to gay marriage.

Slate.com reports, "According to liberal columnists and bloggers, Portman's conversion-the first on this issue by any Republican senator-is too little, too late, and short on empathy."

Critiques say he is a hypocrite and insensitive. Portman says his past opposition towards gay marriage was rooted in his faith.

That is the argument among most people who say that gay marriage is wrong, they constantly quote a passage from the bible using them as justification for their comments about gay marriage being wrong.

It is possible that Portman's change of heart is sincere. Nobody could blame a father for wanting to protect his son from bigotry and discrimination.