Earlier today, during a campaign event in Atlanta, Georgia Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) said that he would not consider Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) for the VP slot, despite being offered the position on Kerry’s ticket in 2004.

After the event, New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller confronted McCain with a May 2004 New York Times story in which McCain denied ever meeting with Kerry to discuss a joint ticket.

In a testy exchange, McCain questioned Bumiller’s source and denied ever considering Kerry’s offer.

Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that, that I had a conversation….And you know it, too. No. You know it, too. No. You do know. You do know…John Kerry asked if I would consider being his running mate and I said categorically no, under no circumstances. That’s all very well known.”

Watch it:

But in March 2004, McCain seemed to ‘entertain’ the possibility of running on the Democratic ticket. Speaking with ABC’s Charles Gibson McCain said, “John Kerry is a very close friend of mine, and we’ve been friends for years. Obviously I would entertain it…”Watch it:

Moreover, on at least two occasions, in May and July of 2004, McCain denied discussing a possible VP run with Kerry.

- “Asked if Senator Kerry had made such an offer, Mr. McCain said no without hesitation. But asked if the two men had ever discussed it, even casually, he paused for a moment.” ”No,” he said finally. ”We really haven’t.” [NYT, May 15, 2004].

- During an interview with Fox News Radio’s The Tony Snow Show, McCain claimed that Kerry “never offered” him the VP slot. [Fox News, July 8, 2004]

The media’s constructed image of McCain as a straight talkin’ maverick is looking thinner than ever.

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