Although I absolutely hate the term "flip-flop" -- it should be retired along with Brangelina -- nothing can better explain what Sen. McCain did during his Hardball College Tour visit in Iowa back in October.
MATTHEWS: Should there be—should gay marriage be allowed?MCCAIN: I think—I think that gay marriage should be allowed if there‘s a ceremony kind of thing, if you want to call it that. I don‘t have any problem with that. But I do believe in preserving the sanctity of a union between man and woman.
(COMMERCIAL)
MCCAIN: Could I just mention one other thing?
On the issue of the gay marriage, I believe that if people want to have private ceremonies, that‘s fine. I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal.
This perfectly illustrates the biggest obstacle McCain faces in getting the '08 Republican nomination; appealing to the rabid anti-gay religious right. God knows he's trying but it just ain't him. His appeal has always been that he's a "moderate straight-talking-maverick." Now that he's sold out entirely, what's left of the man?
Todd Purdum writes in Vanity Fair about the shell of a man McCain has and must become.