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.