Obama is the best viable (sorry Kucinich+Gravel) candidate on Gay Marriage

[obamian]

I have noticed a lot of criticism on Obama's position on gay marriage. In 2004 in the interview below,he said his position was primarily a strategic issue. Since then, he has not contradicted this view, though he's shifted the language he uses. He has stated his personal opposition to gay marriage from his religious beliefs, but he also stated that his personal opposition doesn't necessarily factor into public policy. (see Keyes debate http://youtube.com/watch?v=SG5u04Gbg0A at 0:50 , where he says he says that his religious beliefs don't necessarily translate into public policy.)

For a candidate who opposes gay marriage, this is the best possible stance. He opposes it because it isn't possible, at this time, to get a gay marriage law passed. He doesn't oppose gay marriage legislation for moral reasons, so if the country moved to a point where a gay marriage law was politically possible, he would obviously support it.

The interview from 2004:

WCT: Do you have a position on marriage vs. civil unions?

Obama: I am a fierce supporter of domestic-partnership and civil-union laws. I am not a supporter of gay marriage as it has been thrown about, primarily just as a strategic issue. I think that marriage, in the minds of a lot of voters, has a religious connotation. I know that’s true in the African-American community, for example. And if you asked people, ‘should gay and lesbian people have the same rights to transfer property, and visit hospitals, and et cetera,’ they would say, ‘absolutely.’ And then if you talk about, ‘should they get married?’, then suddenly ...

WCT: There are more than 1,000 federal benefits that come with marriage. Looking back in the 1960s and inter-racial marriage, the polls showed people against that as well.

Obama: Since I’m a product of an interracial marriage, I’m very keenly aware of ...

WCT: But you think, strategically, gay marriage isn’t going to happen so you won’t support it at this time?

Obama: What I’m saying is that strategically, I think we can get civil unions passed. I think we can get SB 101 passed. I think that to the extent that we can get the rights, I’m less concerned about the name. And I think that is my No. 1 priority, is an environment in which the Republicans are going to use a particular language that has all sorts of connotations in the broader culture as a wedge issue, to prevent us moving forward, in securing those rights, then I don’t want to play their game.

WCT: If Massachusetts gets marriage and this gives momentum to the proposed federal Constitutional amendment against gay marriage?

Obama: I would oppose that.

http://outlineschicago.com/gay/lesbian/news/ARTICLE.php...

Interview from 2007 on gay marriage:
"Well, I think that 'marriage' has a religious connotation in this society, in our culture, that makes it very difficult to disentangle from the civil aspects of marriage. And as a consequence it's almost -- it would be extraordinarily difficult and distracting to try to build a consensus around marriage for gays and lesbians. What we can do is form civil unions that provide all the civil rights that marriage entails to same sex couples. And that is something that I have consistently been in favor of. And I think that the vast majority of Americans don't want to see gay and lesbian couples discriminated against, when it comes to hospital visitations and so on."

http://www.towleroad.com/2007/03/barack_obama_on.html

Is there a better possible stance of someone who doesn't support gay marriage?