Last year in an interview with MyDD, John Kerry indicated that John McCain's staff had approached his campaign about joining the Democratic ticket in 2004. Take a look and a listen:

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Jonathan Singer: There's a story in The Hill, I think on Tuesday, by Bob Cusack on the front page of the paper talking about how John McCain's people -- John Weaver -- had approached Tom Daschle and a New York Congressman, I don't remember his name, about switching parties. And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what your discussions were with him in 2004, how far it went, who approached whom... if there was any "there" there.

John Kerry: I don't know all the details of it. I know that Tom, from a conversation with him, was in conversation with a number of Republicans back then. It doesn't surprise me completely because his people similarly approached me to engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as Vice President. So his people were active -- let's put it that way.

Singer: Okay. And just to confirm, you said it, but this is something they approached you rather than...

Kerry: Absolutely correct. John Weaver of his shop... [JK aswers phone]

Nearly one year later, The New York Times has done some more digging into the story. Here's Elisabeth Bumiller:

But less than three years [after having been in talks of joining the Senate Democratic caucus in 2001], Mr. McCain was once again in talks with the Democrats, this time over whether he would be Mr. Kerry's running mate. In an interview with a blog last year, Mr. Kerry said that the initial idea had come from Mr. McCain's side, as had happened in 2001.

Mr. Kerry, reacting to reports in The Hill newspaper last year about Mr. Weaver's 2001 approach to Mr. Downey, said he saw a pattern. "It doesn't surprise me completely because his people similarly approached me to engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as vice president," Mr. Kerry told Jonathan Singer of MyDD.com, a prominent liberal blog, in remarks that are available in an audio version online and that Mr. Kerry's staff said last week were accurate. "So his people were active -- let's put it that way."

Two former Kerry strategists said last week that Mr. Weaver went to Mr. Kerry's house in Georgetown a short time after Mr. Kerry won the Democratic nomination in March and asked that Mr. Kerry consider Mr. McCain as his running mate. (Mr. Weaver said in his e-mail message that the idea had come from Mr. Kerry.) Whatever the case, both sides say that Mr. Kerry was so enthusiastic about the notion that he relentlessly pursued Mr. McCain, even to the point of offering him a large part of the president's national security responsibilities.

[...]

Mr. Kerry declined last week to discuss his conversations with Mr. McCain, but three former Kerry strategists said that Mr. McCain had not immediately dismissed the notion of sharing the Democratic ticket. “McCain did not flat-out say no, regardless of what he’s saying now,” said one strategist who asked not to be named. “He was interested in this discussion.”

What comes out of Bumiller's reporting is a partial confirmation of what Kerry told MyDD last year, at the least, as well as a clearer picture of just what happened between McCain's people and Kerry's people in the spring of 2004.

There is agreement between both McCain's people and Kerry's people that Weaver, McCain's right hand man at the time, went to Kerry's house to talk about the possibility of a Kerry-McCain ticket. There is agreement, too, that McCain's team did not dismiss out of hand the possibility of such a ticket (Weaver would not have gone to Kerry's house for such a discussion had such a possibility already been shot down by his boss). Where there remains disagreement is over who instigated the conversations. But as I wrote earlier this month, taking a look at the motives and interests of both sides, one can begin to draw some conclusions.

Last April, Kerry had nothing to gain by lying about his interactions with McCain. He wasn't running for President at the time and did not seek out a forum in which to spread the news (it was prompted by a question he presumably had not been asked in some time). On the other hand, McCain, who denied Kerry's contention, had everything to gain by lying about the interaction between his people and Kerry's people -- and still does. Notice that today McCain did nothing to deny the conversations, or even to deny that it was he who reached out to Kerry in 2004.

Anyway, it's nice to see the establishment media picking up on this story (particularly after I wondered on this site as to whether they would). It's a pretty interesting and thorough read, going back through a couple key instances in which McCain apparently tried to leave his party. Take a look through the whole thing if you're interested.

Following up on Todd's post on John McCain blowing up at New York Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller over a question regarding the much talked about possibility that he would run on a ticket with John Kerry in 2004, I think it's worth going back to the record -- in this case the exclusive interview Kerry had with MyDD just one year ago in which he revealed that it was McCain's staff who had approached the Kerry campaign, not the other way around.

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If you're having trouble with the Odeo player you can download the .mp3 file here.

Jonathan Singer: There's a story in The Hill, I think on Tuesday, by Bob Cusack on the front page of the paper talking about how John McCain's people -- John Weaver -- had approached Tom Daschle and a New York Congressman, I don't remember his name, about switching parties. And I was wondering if you could talk a little bit about what your discussions were with him in 2004, how far it went, who approached whom... if there was any "there" there.

John Kerry: I don't know all the details of it. I know that Tom, from a conversation with him, was in conversation with a number of Republicans back then. It doesn't surprise me completely because his people similarly approached me to engage in a discussion about his potentially being on the ticket as Vice President. So his people were active -- let's put it that way.

Singer: Okay. And just to confirm, you said it, but this is something they approached you rather than...

Kerry: Absolutely correct. John Weaver of his shop... [JK aswers phone]

In light of the truth revealed in this bombshell, it's no wonder that John McCain got so angry when asked about the potential 2004 Kerry-McCain ticket. Yes, today's exchange between McCain and Bumiller showed once again that the presumptive Republican nominee has trouble keeping his cool when under pressure -- not the type of serious character flaw Americans like to see in a Commander-in-Chief. But I think it goes beyond that as well.

Last April, Kerry had nothing to gain by lying about his interactions with McCain. He wasn't running for President at the time and did not seek out a forum in which to spread the news (it was prompted by a question he presumably had not been asked in some time). On the other hand, McCain, who denied Kerry's contention, had everything to gain by lying about the interaction between his people and Kerry's people -- and still does. Notice that today McCain did nothing to deny the conversations, or even to deny that it was he who reached out to Kerry in 2004.

But it's time for the media to push him on the subject. McCain was able to dispatch the story in a couple days last April, largely because a lot fewer people were paying attention back then and his campaign was already beginning to tank. Today it's a different story. With McCain desperately trying to court the Republican base, don't you think the Republican base would want to know if their presumptive presidential nominee tried to join the Democratic ticket in 2004? I'd certainly want to know if either Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama tried to run with George W. Bush four years ago.

So to the media and the conservative blogosphere I say this: The ball's in your court now. We have, on the record, John Kerry explaining his version of events. Let's hear it directly from John McCain himself now, not through his campaign or his surrogates. Did John McCain reach out to defect from his party in 2004? Or is he ready and willing to call his friend John Kerry a liar to the American people and substantiate that accusation?