AP: McCain rejects Kerry's VP overtures

[lancdem]

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040611/ap_on_el_pr/kerry_mccain

I don't blame Kerry for trying. BTW, the article makes clear Kerry never offered McCain the VP slot, only asked him to consider it.

WASHINGTON - Republican Sen. John McCain has personally rejected John Kerry (news - web sites)'s overtures to join the Democratic presidential ticket and forge a bipartisan alliance against President Bush, The Associated Press has learned.

Kerry has asked McCain as recently as late last month to consider becoming his running mate, but the Arizona senator said he's not interested, said a Democratic official who spoke on condition of anonymity because Kerry has insisted that his deliberations be kept private. A second official familiar with the conversations confirmed the account, and said the Arizona senator made it clear he won't change his mind.

[lebkuchen]

1. Good

I can breathe a sigh of relief now.

[TruthIsAll]

66. Did you ever think that this is a Repuke scheme to make Kerry look weak?

As if to say: I need McCain in order to defeat Bush.

And then McCain goes off and declared his support for Bush, making Kerry look like a desperate fool.

This McCain VP thing has stunk from high heaven from day one.

Who is the source of this crap? Mr. Unnamed Source, that's who.
And did Kerry make an actual offer to McCain? Of course not.

This is either a classic Rove dirty trick or an attempt by the CIA to bring down Bush and nominate Kerry. One or the other.

[TruthIsAll]

71. I meant to say "nominate McCain" in previous post.

The sentence should be:
This is either a classic Rove dirty trick or an attempt by the CIA to bring down Bush and nominate McCain. One or the other.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

75. the spin certainly intends to make Kerry look groveling and desparate

and we know that's not the case, but that is the spin they want to put on this.
I simply see Kerry covering a possibility which would need to be explored. It lays credence to his desire to forge bi-partisan coalitions and get the nation back together.
It will be way overblown, for sure.

[phillybri]

2. Good. Put this to rest once and for all...

n/t

[w13rd0]

3. McCain shows more sense...

...in declining that Kerry demonstrated in asking...

[jpgray]

7. It was a big PR coup--smart politics by the Kerry camp (nt)

[Bandit]

51. Yes ~ there are a few very perceptive DUers here. You are one of them

:thumbsup: for you and Kerry both.

[gulfcoastliberal]

4. A bit discouraging that Kerry was so hot for McCain

I fear it cements his "new democrat" DLC credentials that much more. But alas, for he is now our only hope of salvaging the democracy.

[kentuck]

16. I think he was hot for McCain supporters...

:) That might not be too crazy about voting for Bush...

[TLDHOME99]

58. Precisely.

[emulatorloo]

23. No, it was done to Mess W Karl Rove's Mind

and to show independent voters that Kerry can work w repugs

[Beatrix]

33. He already has

just take a look at his voting record the past years. If there is any doubt he can "work with repubs" his record will settle the matter.

[markses]

5. Win Win for Kerry

The Kerry camp has clearly decided that one of Bush's great weaknesses is the divisiveness he causes. Kerry is running as someone who is not so viciously partisan as Bush. So even a public "rejection" by McCain continues to promote the image of healing unity after the divisive catastrophe of the Bush Administration. Bush cannot counter these charges, since it is manifest that he is hated by 50% of the population, and there's nothing he can do about it. In fact, the more the right wing pundits accuse their enemies of "hate and anger," the deeper is Bush's slide into the very charge that will destroy his chances for a second term: He cannot unify the country, despite every chance in the world to do so. He consistently divides and insults; he consistently dismisses his opponents. This is cute to his extreme partisans, but is repugnant to most people, who seek reconciliation. Kerry's people have pretty obviously picked up on this, and have run a reconciliation line throughout. Bush's negative ads are counterproductive for this reason: they merely perpetuate the divisiveness that most people find most disturbing. Smart move, Kerry.

[lancdem]

11. Excellent point

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

15. Well said. nt

[Proud2BAmurkin]

19. Yep.

nt

[dwilson]

6. Pathetic.

Like we don't have enough outstanding V.P. candidates. A Repug would never ever try to get a Dem on their Presidential ticket.

I used to watch McCain on c-span when Clinton was still in office. He was pretty mean spirited towards the Dems who came before his committees. I think this admiration for him is misplaced.

[Goldmund]

24. Agreed

[lancdem]

8. I know a lot of people here were against it

but I think a Kerry-McCain ticket would've creamed Bush.

Edit: I still think we can win big with a Dem veep, however. :)

[CWebster]

9. Kerry would rather have a Republican on the ticket?

Guess those differences between the parties don't count for much.

Guess Nader must've been proven right.

[lancdem]

17. He was considering McCain

among many candidates. That hardly means he would rather have a Repub on the ticket.

[Zero Gravitas]

22. National Unity

The point is that the situation is so bad that the Dem candidate would consider asking a "moderate" Republican to join the ticket to save the nation from fascism. No-one expects that it will happen, but the PR is powerful. Most people realize just how critical the situation is, apparently except for Nader and his delusional worshipers.

[emulatorloo]

25. You are wrong. . .Done to mess w karl rove's mind, and to show

that Kerry is not 'bitterly partisan" like GWB. . .

Note that the article never claims Kerry offered mcCain the VP slot.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

10. Ah, yes. Good old unnamed sources.

Incidentally, if Kerry never made the offer, as this story claims, how could McCain have rejected it? Oh, right... McCain rejected the "overtures". :eyes:

No one close enough to Kerry to have this guarded information would have been disloyal or indiscreet enough to have leaked it to the media. Unless it was a deliberate leak made by Kerry'e people for reasons more subtle than my non-strategic mind can fathom... perhaps to make Kerry look like he tried to reach across party lines? Naah, I'll stick with my first instinct. The story is BS.

[VolcanoJen]

12. This makes me think the official VP announcement is imminent.

I kinda thought he might do it early next week, after The Reagasm is over...

[lancdem]

26. And notice how this story came out

just hours after the Reagan funeral. They Kerry people have to be behind this, because the timing is perfect. People are ready for something other than Reagan, and this puts Kerry squarely back in the spotlight.

[leftchick]

68. I have been thinking the same thing Jen....

within the next two weeks with Wes Clark in the VP slot to boot!!
I Hope! :)

[VolcanoJen]

72. I mean, really! It looks like Kerry is starting to ASK.

If he's reached out to McCain and out-and-out asked, that means he's close. I really see the official announcement coming, by the end of next week... I hope it's Clark or Edwards... I'll admit to being disappointed if it isn't one of the two.

[Auntie Bush]

13. I'm really bummed that Kerry would even ask!

But glad McCain refused as we can win this election without a repup on the ticket...especially if he picks Wes Clark.

[onehandle]

14. He didn't. Read the article. nt

[chimpy the poopthrower]

18. People don't read articles. They read headlines...

...then go off half-cocked. People also apparently have no skepticism regarding unnamed sources.

If you want to see how trustworthy the media is, and how carefully they verify things, you need only read this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x616637

[AlinPA]

21. Yes. And they watch TV more than they read anything. n/t

[Auntie Bush]

46. Stop being so ...

snotty comes to mind! No need for all the attacks. We're talking semantics here...don't be so damn technical! :grr:

If someone asked me to consider if I'd like to be their running mate...I'd consider myself asked! Sorry to be so presumptuous!

But don't you all accuse me of NOT reading the article and making nasty comments. (I read the whole thing and ALWAYS read the whole articles before I make a comment) So there....Aren't we all Democrats here? :mad: Maybe not!

I have to assume all the attacks come from people who didn't like
my comment about Clark. :shrug: So then why don't you discuss that?

This comment was not just an answer to ALPO...but to all of you!
Sorry Al...I don't read very well.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

70. I can't speak for AlinPA...

...but for myself, I never meant to direct any comments right at you. I don't know why you would assume, though, that people are attacking you based on your comment about Clark. I didn't even see that comment.

It is just very frustrating when DUers see a story and automatically take it at face value without really looking at it with a critical eye. I don't doubt that you read the whole article, but I just think you missed some important points. Perhaps this is more about reading between the lines.

The story does not say that Kerry made an offer to McCain or that he was planning to make an offer but was shot down by McCain first, which is what a lot of people on this thread seem to be assuming. The article refers to two unnamed sources. And a Google search I just did on the author shows him to be a proven liar and a Bush partisan.

[AlinPA]

79. Sorry, but I was NOT referring to you, rather my belief that people in

the US in general, (NOT YOU) don't read newspapers. They get all their info. from the TV. Sorry to have made this remark the way I did - it was meant to be a "yes, and" in reply to chimpy the poopthrower's remark about headlines.

[Proud2BAmurkin]

20. He didn't. He just wanted the speculation out there. Smart.

nt

[wjsander]

31. classic!

"we can win this election without a repup on the ticket... especially if he picks Wes Clark."

That's right! No one denies being a republican more than Clark.

He's not a republican... no, really... he's not... just ask him! :)

[TLDHOME99]

56. hey, hey, hey!!!

Settle down, now!! He is a Democrat. Is that okay with you? If not, then why? Didn't he answer that question a million times about 8 months ago?

He might have voted Republican at one time in his life, but he hates Bush now as much as you and I do. He would do anything to get him out of office.

If Kerry thinks Clark is the best man for the job, he'll pick him. And if he thinks someone else is, he'll pick that person.

I think the idea of a two-party ticket was an inspired one, whatever Kerry's reasons were. And Kerry and McCain are friends. Yes. A Republican. And a Democrat. Shocking. Just like back int he 60s when a white man would be friends with a black man.

Can't we all just get along?
:shrug:

[dwilson]

61. Dems who vote for Republican Congressional bills

are hypocritical when they beat up on Clark for voting for Reagan (and Nixon), and then have no problem voting for a life long Repub to be one half step away from the Presidency. geez.

I also still think it's very bad form for Kerry to even make "overtures" towards McCain for V.P. If this is some type of nuanced campaign strategy, then color me confused.

[TLDHOME99]

88. I don't think Kerry actually expected McCain to accept

They are friends, and Kerry probably knew well enough that McCain would say no.

I gotta believe that Kerry did it as a way of pointing out that even the Repugs are disgusted with Bush. He also may have been trying to point out that partisan politics should be a thing of the past. I said SHOULD. I know it never will be.

Call me politically naive, but I think that is what happened.

[Beatrix]

27. I've just lost a ton of faith in Kerry

I thought the McCain consideration rumors were BS. Obviously they were not.

Just the fact that Kerry was even THINKING about running with a republican speaks volumes about where this party is heading. If we lose this election I predict a MASSIVE green party membership increase.

[emulatorloo]

28. Think about it

it was a rumor floated to mess with Karl Rove's Mind.
it was a rumor floated to show independents that Kerry was not "bitterly partisan" like GWB

Kerry could not run w a repuglican, for this to have worked (and I think it was never serious) John McCain would have had to BECOME A DEMOCRAT.

Kerry is playing chess here --

[Beatrix]

29. Oh give me a break

"become a democrat". In name only. Please. Let me guess, if he decided to run with Delay and Delay "became a democrat" he would be running with a democrat? Yea ok.

And this is not a rumor according to this report (from a reputable source). He honest to god attempted it. Thank god mccain had some sense.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

32. I think you missed emulatorloo's point

I think emulatorloo is saying that this was all a bluff. emulatorloo didn't say anything about "In name only."

And you say this is a reputable source, but all we really have here are two unnamed sources, neither of whom claimed that Kerry even made any kind of offer to McCain.

[Beatrix]

35. Yahoo

is reputable. I've never seen them print something that was blatantly false.

Spare me the spin here. If I was that stupid I'd be a repub.

I'm willing to overlook a lot from Kerry. And I'm still going to vote for Kerry. But his supporters who do defend everything he does right or wrong make me ill.

[Sterling]

50. And if what they are saying is true, that Kerry is playing games

I do not appreciate that kind of manipulation. We need a leader that is straight forward.

[SayitAintSo]

57. You don't think Kerry knew the answer before he asked ?

Hell he had to be deaf dumb and blind not to - McCain's been all over the news with it. Don't be such a guppie.... It was a great move by Kerry...LOL

[Can o Beans]

30. Agreed...

It was a lovely little bit of subterfuge, designed to show the devisiveness of the * Admin, and mess with Rove's cranium, but more importantly...(On edit: as well as to get Kerry's name back in top of mind IMMEDIATELY following the Reagasm).

it will cause those in the Pug party that are just a little disenchanted with * to sit back and think for a minute that there are other options...if they realize that they just might have considered Kerry/McCain, they might also realize that they would consider Kerry/Clark or Kerry/Edwards.

It operates on the same principle as loss leader advertising (make/buy a few of something and advertise it like hell at a very low price, and when you sell out of the promoted item, people coming to the store suddenly realize that they are willing to buy what is in their minds the next best similar item...). All this serves to do is make Pugs think about Kerry, and all we need is for 1-2% of them to act on the feeling and we have comfy vote margins in some contentious states.

Then again, I am a newbie, and could therefore be very very wrong for that reason alone...

[emulatorloo]

37. Said better than I ever could

Welcome to DU! :hi:

[lancdem]

44. I second that

I also noted the timing of this, coming almost immediately after the Reagan funeral.

[Edmond Dantes]

40. Screwing with your mind?

It's pretty obvious that McCain's declination is in Kerry's best interests. If McCain accepted VP slot and Kerry/McCain won in 2004, crazy neocon thugs would assassinate Kerry and we would have another GOP Administration -- without Bush.

Brilliant pro-Dem move by McCain! ;-)

[robbedvoter]

42. Who says they were not rumors? The Reagan liberal media?

Why would you believe anything they say?

[lancdem]

43. There was zero chance McCain would accept

I've always known that. If I knew it, then Kerry certainly did. It was nothing more than a strategy to embarrass Bush.

[mzmolly]

34. Kerry never offered McCain the VP slot.

"Senator McCain categorically states that he has not been offered the vice presidency by any one,"

Key point that makes the article far less uhm 'interesting' ;)

[Can o Beans]

36. Those of you that still seem worried that Kerry is Bush-lite

...seem quite offended that he'd consider McCain.

I ask you to also consider that getting elected and doing things once in office are two entirely different matters. If McCain is what it takes to get elected, then that is the foremost and most important of all the smart moves. Once he's in office, regardless of who the VP is, I have a good feeling that JK is going to veer left harder than a wind-aided Maddux breaking ball...(i.e., learn from the lessons of Master *, and take the mirror image).

Getting there is the first goal and is imminently more important than worrying about what will happen once he is there.

Edit: typing

[Disturbed]

39. MASSIVE green party membership increase.

Hey cool. I am a Green. ;)

[AlGore-08.com]

55. Yeah, and we can risk a CONSERVATIVE Republican VP becoming President

Because Presidents NEVER die in office, right? And because the current crop of GOP Congress critters have NEVER tried to impeach a Dem President for purely political reasons, right?

I'm going to say it outloud here, and get flamed for it, but Kerry has had cancer in the recent past. He should be aware of his own mortality. And if Kerry doesn't think that needs to plan against an impeachment attempt against him, he wasn't paying attention for the last twelve years.

Of course, the possiblity that McCain was using Kerry to boost his own prospects is not ever discussed - - because (apparently) we're going to cross over the Jordan on election day and all right wingnuts will be taken up in the rapture and everything will be hunky-dory in 2008. We'll never have to worry about conservative Republicans in the White House again after this election, so it's totally okay to help McCain become more popular with moderate and conservative Dems. And we'll never, ever have to worry about another election so close that we actually need the folks who are threatening to vote Nader in disgust right now, do we?

And obviously there's no chance of Kerry losing any moderates/undecideds as a result of promoting a guy who's been saying all through this rumor cycle "I support Bush because he's the best candidate."

IMNSHO, people who have been promoting McCain for Kerry's VP and talking this up as "great strategy" have been extremely shortsighted.

[colonel odis]

38. this is all assuming that the story is true.

not yahoo's reporting of it, but the story itself.

let's see if i understand this ..... a democratic senator who has people in his own party capable of being a better #2 than mccain could ever dream of being would risk alienating both republicans and democrats by placing a reagan republican a heartbeat away from the presidency?

overtures? yeah, right.

sounds like a bunch of horseshit to me from top to bottom.

i think i'll call the stones and tell them i won't be available to play bass on their next tour. i know they haven't asked me or anything, but i just want to make it clear that i'm not interested.

[lancdem]

45. There's no risk involved

Kerry's known from Day 1 that McCain would not accept. This is all about making Bush look bad. There was never any chance it would actually happen.

[PassingFair]

60. DLC...BS

The only one who comes out looking bad here is Kerry. Lame, lame, lame!

[sendero]

77. Kerry could have..

.... laid this all to rest easily, but he didn't. Those of you who think this is some kind of brilliant stragegy should ask yourselves, does this really gain more votes that it loses? I'm not convinced it does. I'm sick to death of one-sided bipartisanship, and people who continually turn the other cheek look like wimps, not leaders.

[robbedvoter]

41. What overtures? Is Novak a Kerry rep?

[necso]

47. What I like most about this is that

it shows how savvy the Kerry people are about the media.

A "confirmation", framing it as a leak --- brilliant.

And if McCain should change his mind now he looks bad.

Fusion is a great idea on paper, but no repug dares defy BushCo to this extent --- there would be a great price to pay. McCain may march out of step a little bit, but he is marching to BushCo's drum all the same. There are no moderates left in the republican party .. at least no practicing moderates. Every repug who has survived the onslaught of the far right, has been pulled far to the right.

Kerry never expected McCain to be his VP. While it may enrage a few of the faithful that he would even play at it, it was a masterful gamble --- a gamble because there was a very small chance that McCain might have cared enough about this country to say yes.

It's called hardball and the Kerry people can bring on the heat.

Good news all around.

Go, Kerry!

[Tellurian]

48. The untimely death of RR served as a reminder...

of a time when the republican party was not considered bitter, divisive and unAmerican.

If McCain was under consideration for the VP slot prior to Reagan's passing as a unifying tool for republican conservatives. Reagan did more in death transcending party lines than the alternate plan ever could of drawing the conservative base away from the Right Wing Fundamentalists.

I hope Kerry sticks to (my plan of) choosing Wesley Clark for VP..

[Justice]

52. I have said this before, but seriously

that is the greatest picture of Kerry I have seen yet.

Simply Fabulous.

[sadiesworld]

49. These stories always make me think Bush/McCain...

worries the crap out of me.

[ScreamingMeemie]

54. Republicans think of John McCain like we think of Zell Miller.

No worries. :hi:

[duvinnie]

53. Im not surprised

that JK would try something like that. Another sign we have
one-party rule.

[LittleApple81]

59. I don't like it if he really did it. He must apologize to us democrats

that have made a commitment to him (despite his not being our first choice) out of loyalty for the Democratic party and the desire TO GET RID OF THE REPUGS!!!! MCCAIN IS A REPUG, for God's sakes!!!!!!!

[TruthIsAll]

62. THIS IS BUSHIT DISINFORMATION...

Do you all really believe this crap?

McCain is a repuke.

Kerry knows it.

If I'm wrong, then Kerry just asked McCain to go along with the charade. But it was just that - a charade.

It's probably a conspiracy to pave the way for the Repukes to kick Bush's ass out - one way or the other. And to give McCain the nomination by keeping his name in lights.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

63. I reiterate: UNNAMED SOURCES

Look, a lot of people on here are speculating that this is some kind of bluff by Kerry. I'm not so sure. If it is, I don't begrudge him using any legal means to get elected. I mean if this is some kind of strategy to show swing voters that he's willing to be bipartisan, that's fine with me, as long as it works. But it is just as likely, if not more so, that this whole story is just BS. All we have is two unnamed sources, neither of whom is even claiming that Kerry made any offers to McCain. So let's not get our panties in a bunch worrying about something that may have never even been in the works to begin with. Is it so hard to give Kerry the benefit of doubt over unnamed sources?

[Protagoras]

64. So do we have a single named source yet?

Or is all this still based on complete speculation and reliance on a mysterious *unnamed* official? Almost starts to sound like that intern rumor....and don't worry...if you don't get on board with this one, it won't be the last...there will be lots more where it came from in the next 4 months.

[struggle4progress]

65. How many times do we have to see this story?

Kerry's considering McCain. Wait: Kerry's campaign says not. McCain's pondering. Wait: McCain says he hasn't been asked and wouldn't anyway. Kerry and McCain are feeling each other out. Wait: etc etc.

I don't know where this BS came from, but two or three months of it is enough.

[chimpy the poopthrower]

67. IMPORTANT: About Ron Fournier, the author of this piece...

Here are some links I found on Google. You might want to check these out before taking anything this guy says at face value:

http://www.campaigndesk.org/archives/000304.asp

http://www.bopnews.com/archives/000068.html

http://www.moltz.net/~john/blog/archives/000672.html

http://www.charm.net/~somerby/dh032204.shtml

Enjoy!

[republicansareevil]

73. Good info. Here's another story by him:

(From Yahoo)

President Bush getting little credit for new jobs

By Ron Fournier, Associated Press
June 12, 2004

WASHINGTON — The economy gained 1.2 million jobs in the past six months, a potential political boon for President Bush, but a development barely noticed by Lonnie Steele and hundreds of other voters surveyed by The Associated Press.

"I don't think he's created anything," said Steele, 57, an undecided voter from East Flat Rock, N.C. "I know a number of people who are educated people, and they are working two or three minimum-wage jobs just trying to put groceries on the table and keep their families alive."

Steele is not alone. Voters are too focused on the war in Iraq and other news — and too busy trying to make ends meet — to heed the upbeat economic news from the Bush administration. Few voters seem to be giving Bush credit for the new jobs or other signs of financial recovery.

The Nov. 2 election may hinge on whether the economy continues to improve and voters notice...(snip)



Notice the pro-Bush spin? The economy is great but voters are just too stupid too notice. :eyes:

[Gloria]

69. PR coup??? When CNN headline is 'McCain Rejects Kerry..." or

"McCain turns down Kerry???

It's a great setup for GOP spin...that Kerry was desperate, that Kerry was REJECTED, that the VP nominee is Kerry's "second choice."

What a great PR coup, once the GOP gets its hands on it.

Perhaps they set this up? Perhaps there is someone in the Kerry camp that has a hidden agenda??

And while we're at it, where has that two-bit reporter in Boston been getting all the stories? 3 already, the latest one about Edwards and some probably untrue info about Kennedy's preference?

This is NOT good....a story that was pretty much over, suddenly reappears with "new details" now??

[Seabiscuit]

74. When will Kerry grow a backbone???

Overtures to McCreepazoid McCain?

He might as well have made overtures to Joe Loserman, or Jeb Bush or Tom DeLay.

Hell, you'd never see Howard Dean making those kind of overtures. And why isn't Kerry blasting Bush daily about all of the scandals surrounding the White House? He did a pretty good imitation of Dean in order to "win" the nomination, but now it looks like he's morphed back to being his old namby-pamby, spineless DLC'er self.

This neocon thugs are ruthless - you have to *FIGHT* them with all you've got. The jury's still out on whether Kerry has the spine to stand up and counter-punch.

Don't worry - I'll still vote for ANYONE BUT BUSH!

[metasphere]

76. Wait a minute...

Since when does Lieberman belong with Jeb Bush and Delay?

But back to the point- Kerry and McCain makes as much sense on a ticket together as, as, as, ...a round peg and a square hole, a fish and a bicycle, etc etc.

Now that this sham is over, let's get on with it. Who will/should be the VEEP!?!?!

[Seabiscuit]

82. Because

Lieberman's nothing more than a right-wing "plant" in the Democratic party. He's a closet neocon Repuke. That became crystal clear during the Democratic debates last year.

[Seabiscuit]

85. My choice for VP

would be John Edwards, hands down.

My second choice would be Wes Clark.

There is no third choice. Dick Gephardt is a dishonest sleazebag and if he were chosen, the right-wing media would have a field day playing and replaying ad nauseum film footage of him standing in the Rose Garden with his arm around George Bush celebrating the final draft of the Iraq War Resolution. And they'd play all of Gephardt's attacks on Howard Dean during the campaign. And they'd all comment that Kerry has become nothing but "Bush Lite", and urge us all to vote for the "real thing", George Bush.

And that Arizona Governor, nice as he may be, has no name recognition at all among the vast majority of American voters (see? I can't even remember his name - I think it starts with a "V" but it's not an easy name to spell).

[LibDemAlways]

78. Thank you.

McCain has never claimed to be anything other than a conservative repuke. He came out early for the chimp and he isn't backtracking. If the feelers weren't sent out to McCain, Kerry should have issued a strongly worded statement months ago assuring Dems that his vice-presidential pick would, of course, be a Democrat and that the only difficulty would be paring the list down since we have so many fine candidates to choose from. If the feelers were sent out to McCain, Kerry looks foolish and desperate IMO, and that is just how the media whores have spun, and will continue to spin, this.

[Seabiscuit]

84. You're welcome...

...and let us never forget that McCain has been a warhawk cheerleading the neocons from early 2002 to the present day in support of this dirty, illegal, immoral, imperialist, unilateral quagmire of a misadventure in Iraq. Just last month he was on a TV interview supporting Bush 100% on Iraq and claiming that we'll still find all the tons of WMD's they all lied about to get us into this mess. That one issue alone is enough to thoroughly disqualify McCain as any kind of political ally of Kerry and the rest of us on DU. Not to mention that he's consistently claimed that Bush is the "better candidate".

McCain's a die-in-the-wool foolish ass.

[struggle4progress]

80. Kerry has plenty of backbone.

The "McCain as VP" story is 100% BS, but somebody is pushing it hard.

[Seabiscuit]

83. So, as the previous poster pointed out...

why, oh, why, hasn't Kerry vehemently denied such stories? His silence lends credence to claims he's so desperate and spineless that he doesn't think he can beat Bush without selling out and inviting a repuke to be his running mate.

[struggle4progress]

87. Over several months, I've seen repeated denials.

The McCain and Kerry campaigns have both denied this story over and over again. I think they've gotten sick of denying it.

As I've said before, I think there's a deliberate strategy here: somebody is pushing this story in the hopes that it will hurt both Kerry and McCain.

[Spirochete]

81. Poor Kerry

at this rate, he may end up having to settle for a Democrat for a running mate.

[Darranar]

86. He's done this countless times...

it isn't going to happen.