Washington, D.C.
Democratic presidential contender John Kerry has repeatedly and personally asked Sen. John McCain, a maverick Republican, to be his running mate, newspapers reported this week. “It was always artfully phrased,” a source who talked to Kerry said. “He’d say, ‘I don’t want to formally ask because I don’t want to be formally rejected, but having said that, would you do it?’” McCain flatly refused. A recent CBS News poll gave a Kerry-McCain ticket a 14 percent lead over Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. McCain is friends with Kerry, a fellow Vietnam veteran, and he has a testy relationship with President Bush. But McCain has said repeatedly that he has no desire to be vice president, and that he plans to vote for Bush.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
6 sleek homes for modernistsFeature Featuring a concrete-and-steel home in South Carolina and a renovated 19th-century former carriage house in Pennsylvania
-
4 tips to get a lower credit card APRthe explainer Don't let your card's annual percentage rate balloon your balance
-
The Genius Myth: a 'fresh and unpretentious' book from Helen LewisThe Week Recommends This 'angry, witty book' by Helen Lewis is a valuable critique of the 'flattering fiction' of genius
