Oh, I hate it when they flounder...

Yeah, right. The straight-talker seemed to be on the right track when he told the NYT in a recent interview that he was against the adoption of orphaned or foster children by gay couples. But when the rainbow-pronged pitchforks were raised, McCain turned into straight-mashed potatoes. His campaign issued a statement today "clarifying" that McCain was a die hard federalist and believed that the issue was one to be taken up by the states.

I know that this is pandering by center-kicking on the part of the campaign. If you follow the first link, you'll see that, in the interview, McCain actually avoids having to say that he would rather orphaned and foster children stay in orphanages and designated homes than with gay parents.

Q: Even if the alternative is the kid staying in an orphanage, or not having parents.

Mr. McCain: I encourage adoption and I encourage the opportunities for people to adopt children. I encourage the process being less complicated so they can adopt as quickly as possible. And Cindy and I are proud of being adoptive parents.

From what I read, the Republican nominee was saying that he is an active proponent for adoption (by heterosexuals, as he says that he is against gay adoption in this very interview), and that he is also an active proponent of getting children adopted with as little red tape as possible. I don't read that he "believes that in those situations that caring parental figures are better for the child than the alternative" or where there are any traces of what "could have been clearer in the interview in stating that his position on gay adoption is that it is a state issue." Usually, when candidates want to seem good, calm moderates on an issue such as this, they will pick up the federalist flag while mentioning their own personal preferences as an aside. Barack Obama has played this strategy well, acknowledging his being a personal pro-lifer who just happens to believe that every state should be able to set their own standards on the issue. My hero! This is no different. McCain let his true beliefs (actually pure red) shine through and that is definitely a general election no-no.

I'm about tired of this whole "Each State can have its own moral society." scam.
J. Sutton