Please give me the facts. Did Kerry ever want McCain as VP?

[elshiva]

I heard this, but never saw the facts. Thanks.

[Mass]

1. Again - they have nothing else to do.

[elshiva]

2. HUH??? I'm being serious. I've heard this and don't know the whole

story.

[Mass]

4. The media have reported two years ago that Kerry had approached

McCain as his VP. Of course, no source for these rumors that were persistant.

Both McCain and Kerry denied that Kerry had offered the post to McCain, saying simply that they had discussed the VP issue as friends or something. The rumor persisted for a few months, helped by Biden.

A few weeks ago, it has been said that it was all orchestrated by McCain so that Bush would rush and become friendly with McCain in order to help McCain to look good to the conservatives again.

This story is repeated regularly on DU by people that do not like Kerry and Ron has posted something a few weeks ago on the subject.

Here is the link.

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2121

Sorry.

[elshiva]

5. Thanks. I didn't know that at all.

Again, I am rabidly pro-Kerry. I didn't mean anything snarky about it.

[Mass]

6. I know - I was talking about the people that you read, not you.

[MH1]

7. There was something in the media recently, by someone

allegedly on "our side", referring to "Kerry even considered McCain" for VP.

I'm racking my brain for where I saw that. It was something about the little republican lovefest in Tennessee over the weekend. Anyway, that's what probably set the shallow ones all atwitter again.

[wisteria]

3. Everything I have read indicates this was a stunt pulled off by McCain.

Reasons vary, but one suggestion was he was trying to reach moderate Democrats.

[demdiva]

8. McCain Seems To Be a Fan of the "Stunt"

He pulled one this week with southern republican straw poll . . .

[jillan]

9. and he still ended up on the bottom

:nopity:

[demdiva]

11. Yeah...I think he wanted it to seem

like he was in the bottom because his votes went to W, which was really dumb, because W isn't getting a lot of votes right now either! It was soooooo transparent.

Also ... that BS with Obama recently really got me worked up. I used to be kind of a fan of McCain but all this transparent political maneuvering has changed my view of him.

[demdiva]

10. I'm not saying I buy their version of the story

It's been a long time since I read it, but I do remember I had issues with this book, as I'm sure most Kerry fans did, but Election 2004 by Evan Thomas and Newsweek reported this story after the election ...

"(Kerry) badly wanted Sen. John McCain to be his running mate. As far back as August 2003, Kerry had taken McCain to breakfast to sound him out: would the maverick Republican run on a unity ticket with Kerry? ... McCain batted away the idea as not serious. But Kerry was intent, and after he wrapped up the nomination in March, he went back after McCain a half-dozen more times...."

Blah blah blah .... it goes on from there

[karynnj]

12. That story in total is pretty unbelievable

The quotes were clearly from McCain - and said things like Kerry was going to have him be Secretary of Defense as well, then questioning if that was even legal. (They were friends - but look at their positions on the war - they are totally incompatible. McCain is PNAC, Kerry wanted to use diplomacy and international help to get out as quickly as possible while giving Iraq assistance in regaining stability)

He then spoke of Kerry swearing at him - now, McCain blows up at people all the time. I have never read of any incident like this with Kerry. (The closest was swearing at a SS person who colided with him when he was skiing - which, if the NYT weren't there, would have been taken for what it was.)

Newsweek incidently has a long unfriendly history with Kerry.

[Dr Ron]

13. Most likely rumors came from McCain to enhance his own reputation

See these posts:

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2121

http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2127