Thanks to a bit of sensationalised over-reporting from the New York Times, the Republican nominee has so far avoided major fallout from his untrue denial of a personal meeting with broadcasting magnate Bud Paxson in 1999. (This sitdown occurred while Paxson was furiously lobbying the federal agency that McCain had jurisdiction over.)
But will McCain get called out for another risky blanket denial: that he and John Kerry discussed a possible joint campaign in 2004? No less an authority than Kerry confirms it happened, but McCain has long denied forging any unsavoury alliances with Democrats.
Until today, when NBC news heard McCain give this answer to a voter who asked whether he would consider making Kerry his running mate: "He is a liberal Democrat... I am a conservative Republican. When we had that conversation in 2004, that's why I never even considered such a thing."
Wait ... so the conversation did happen? A reporter from the New York Times, of course, pursued this line of questioning and got a taste of McCain's famous short temper. The full exchange, as reported by NBC, is in the link above. And it's worth reading in full.
Or check out the video of the exchange (via the Huffington Post):
