Waterford, Mich. ? Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday spelled out his differences with President Bush on the issue of gay marriage while for the first time discussing his daughter’s sexual orientation in a public setting.

Asked his position on the subject at a town hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa, Cheney replied: “Lynne and I have a gay daughter, so it’s an issue that our family is very familiar with. … With respect to the question of relationships, my general view is that freedom means freedom for everyone. People ought to be able to free — ought to be free to enter into any kind of relationship they want to.”

Cheney went on to reiterate the position he first outlined in the 2000 campaign — that same-sex marriage should be left to the states to decide. He noted, however, that Bush had endorsed a constitutional amendment preventing the states from recognizing such marriages.

“At this point … my own preference is as I’ve stated,” Cheney said. “But the president makes basic policy for the administration. And he’s made it.”

The remarks were the farthest Cheney has gone in laying out his differences with Bush’s position, and they took leaders of the GOP conservative base by surprise. Although Bush has rarely discussed his support for the amendment, conservatives viewed his stance as one of the most important social statements of his term. Republican strategists said it would motivate Christian voters to the polls even though it risks alienating swing voters.

The Family Research Council, a conservative group with close White House ties, called Cheney’s remarks disappointing. “Unfortunately protection of our values is made more difficult when mixed messages emanate from the White House,” said Tony Perkins, the group’s president. “We support President Bush’s commitment to a constitutional amendment on marriage, but we are left to wonder why the vice president is allowed to depart from this position when the top of the ticket is unified on all other issues.”

Bush officials said Cheney has such deep and longtime goodwill among conservatives that the White House is not worried about the political fallout from the exchange.

Vice President Dick Cheney speaks during a town-hall meeting in Davenport, Iowa. Cheney with his wife, Lynne Cheney, left, surprised the Republican Party on Tuesday with his comments about gay marriage.

Cheney’s remark was the first time the vice president has taken note of his daughter’s sexual orientation in public, officials said. Mary Cheney works for the Bush-Cheney campaign as director of vice presidential operations.