John McCain's temper is well known to most of us and you'd figure he'd do his best to keep it in check. He lost it a little bit today with the Times’ Elisabeth Bumiller. I guess she's not allowed to ask about an actual event that happened to him involving John Kerry back in '04. FOX didn't show the whole exchange unfortunately.
Update: Watching it again, I think "cranky" is a better description. You may remember how nasty McCain got with Barack back in '06 after Obama decided "he preferred his own party's legislation to a task force and suggested McCain take another look at the Democratic caucus's Honest Leadership Act, which does not have a Republican cosponsor."
Wrote Obama: "I know you have expressed an interest in creating a task force to further study and discuss these matters, but I and others in the Democratic Caucus believe the more effective and timely course is to allow the committees of jurisdiction to roll up their sleeves and get to work[.]"
McCain wasn't very happy and fired off this response: "I understand how important the opportunity to lead your party's effort to exploit this issue must seem to a freshman Senator, and I hold no hard feelings over your earlier disingenuousness.
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Download New York Times correspondent Elisabeth Bumiller: Senator can I ask you about Senator Kerry. I just went back and looked at our story, the Times story, and you told Sheryl Stolberg that you had never had a conversation with Kerry about being, about Vice President –
John McCain: Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that. That I had a conversation. There’s no living American in Washington -
EB: Okay.
McCain: - that knows that, there’s no one.
EB: Okay
McCain: And you know it too. You know it. You know it. So I don’t even know why you ask.
EB: Well I ask because I just read –-
McCain: You do know it. You do know it.
EB: Because I just read in the Times in May of ’04 you said.
McCain: I don’t know what you may have read or heard of, I don’t know the circumstances. Maybe in May of 04 I hadn’t had the conversation --
EB: But do you recall the conversation?
McCain: I don’t know, but it’s well known that I had the conversation. It is absolutely well known by everyone. So do you have a question on another issue?
And then we have McCain throwing an F-bomb at Rep. John Cornyn last March over an immigration dispute. Do you think McCain could use a few anger management meetings to help him with his temper? (the rest of the exchange and take the AOL Hot Seat poll below the fold)
EB: Well can I ask you when the conversation was?
McCain: No. Nope, because the issue is closed as far as I’m concerned. Everybody knows it. Everybody knows it in America.
EB: Can you describe the conversation?
McCain: Pardon me.
EB: Can you describe the conversation?
McCain: No, of course not. I don’t describe private conversations.
EB: Okay. Can I ask you –
McCain: Why should I? Then there’s no such thing as a private conversation. Is there (inaudible) if you have a private conversation with someone, and then they come and tell you. I don’t know that that’s a private conversation. I think that’s a public conversation.
EB. Okay. Can I ask you about your (pause) Why you’re so angry?
McCain: Pardon me?
EB: Nevermind, nevermind.
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