This little exchange happened earlier today when a New York Times reporter repeatedly questioned McCain about the conversation he had with John Kerry in 2004 concerning the possibility of being Kerry’s running mater.

Here’s video of the exchange:

Story on it from The Politico:

John McCain became hostile with the N.Y. Times’ Elisabeth Bumiller on the campaign’s plane today, after the reporter questioned him about a 2004 meeting with John F. Kerry, in which the Massachusetts senator suggested a VP slot.

Bumiller, who took over the McCain beat from Marc Santora in January, quoted a 2004 story in which McCain said the Kerry meeting never happened, according to ABC News. McCain, whose temper does flare up at times, told Bumiller that everyone already knows this story, despite her persistent questioning.

I wouldn’t call it “hostile”, more of a typical press exchange. However, questions of McCain’s loyalty to the Republican Party have been raised for a while now. This began with the story of him looking to jump ship to the Democrats in 2001.

The bottom line here is that I don’t think McCain wants to discuss how close he may or may not have come to joining Kerry in 2004. Conversations took place but who knows how serious it was.