McCain Has History of Building Up Own Reputation Over Claims of VP Offers

The story earlier today that the rumors of a Kerry/McCain ticket came from the McCain camp has led to discussions in the blogosphere as many wonder how reliable this is, and whether to believe James Broyce’s speculation that this was part of a scheme for McCain to ultimately replace Dick Cheney.

While the second part is quite speculative, the report that the rumors of a Kerry/McCain ticket came from the McCain camp sounds true. I recall previous interviews in which McCain sounded like he was trying to build himself up with similar claims, such as that he turned down offers to run with George Bush in 2000. I’ve been trying to hunt down transcripts of this. So far I’ve found one quote from a conservative site monitoring the news. From an interview on CBS’s The Early Show with Hannah Storm:

Storm: “I know that you two are friends. Have you talked about it. Have you talked about this with Senator Kerry?”

McCain: “No. We are friends. Joe Lieberman is a friend of mine, also, as is John Edwards. You know, in America I think it’s still possible to have a friend if they’re in another party, at least I hope so. Look, I don’t want to be Vice President of the United States, I do not want to leave the Republican party, I would not be Vice President of the United States on either ticket. I told President Bush when he asked me in 2000 if, when he asked me if I was interested, I said I was not interested. I love being in the United States Senate and I am of the party of Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt. I can not categorically more state, answer no.”