Did McCain Consider Jumping Parties in 2001?

The Hill reports that negotiations were carried on for some two months between Dem leaders and John McCain (and his people) regarding a party switch in 2001 (following McCain's loss to Bush in the primaries). The whole thing was short circuited by the Jumpin' Jim Jeffords switch (h/t Captain Ed):

Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) was close to leaving the Republican Party in 2001, weeks before then-Sen. Jim Jeffords (Vt.) famously announced his decision to become an Independent, according to former Democratic lawmakers who say they were involved in the discussions.

In interviews with The Hill this month, former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) and ex-Rep. Tom Downey (D-N.Y.) said there were nearly two months of talks with the maverick lawmaker following an approach by John Weaver, McCain’s chief political strategist.

Democrats had contacted Jeffords and then-Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) in the early months of 2001 about switching parties, but in McCain’s case, they said, it was McCain’s top strategist who came to them. ...

Daschle said that throughout April and May of 2001, he and McCain “had meetings and conversations on the floor and in his office, I think in mine as well, about how we would do it, what the conditions would be. We talked about committees and his seniority … [A lot of issues] were on the table.”

It was no secret that McCain was very bitter after the defeat in 2000, and given the way he's seemed to side with the Dems on important issues more than the GOP, it's not that hard to imagine that a switch could have occurred had Jeffords not beaten him to it. Captain Ed doesn't seem to think there's much reality in this story, but Allahpundit thinks otherwise. I lean toward's Allahpundit's evaluation. Frankly, I'm not terribly surprised by the story.