Get a room, already. via Mike Tidmus.

I just couldn’t make it through the looong Vanity Fair piece, Prisoner of Conscience, on The Tool John McCain. It’s another attempt for the “maverick” to explain his lack of integrity or ability to hold fast to any political position  — or why he is compelled to continually hump Dear Leader.

In the real world, one would call this guy a flip flopper, but McPain manages to hold onto onto this “maverick” label.

Today’s story is that he’s just “faking it” when he coos and moans for the winger social fringe.

“Yes, he’s a social conservative, but his heart isn’t in this stuff,” one former aide told me, referring to McCain’s instinctual unwillingness to impose on others his personal views about issues such as religion, sexuality, and abortion. “But he has to pretend [that it is], and he’s not a good enough actor to pull it off. He just can’t fake it well enough.”

The article does illuminate the Arizona senator’s craven desire to court the fundies at all costs for his presidential run, even if his statements are all over the map from venue to venue, or, hell — segment to segment during the same program.

[Chris Matthews of MSNBC’s Hardball] wants to know McCain’s views on the prevalence of gay people in all walks of life, a subject whose predicate is the scandal involving Representative Mark Foley and his come-hither instant-messaging with congressional pages. “Should gay marriage be allowed?,” Matthews asks.

“I think that gay marriage should be allowed, if there’s a ceremony kind of thing, if you want to call it that,” McCain answers, searching in vain for the less loaded phrases he knows are out there somewhere, such as “commitment ceremony” or “civil union.” “I don’t have any problem with that, but I do believe in preserving the sanctity of the union between man and woman.” It may not be clear just what McCain is trying to say, but it’s easy to see how his words could be skewed in a direction that the Republican right might not like at all.

Fast-forward to the next commercial break, during which McCain and Matthews reposition themselves from the stage to the auditorium floor to take questions from the students. McCain’s longtime political strategist, John Weaver, a lanky, laconic Texan, moves in to whisper some advice. The next question is about the pending federal farm bill, and McCain repeats his long-standing opposition to certain agricultural subsidies.

But then, out of nowhere, he adds, “Could I just mention one other thing? On the issue of the gay marriage, I believe if people want to have private ceremonies, that’s fine. I do not believe that gay marriages should be legal.” There: he said it, the right words for his right flank.

A poll is after the flip.