McCain's Temper Gets the Best of Him

One of the reasons that Republicans were a little concerned about John McCain is that he has a somewhat volatile temper that can explode at any time. Today, it got the best of him:

John McCain lost his cool Friday with a New York Times reporter who asked him about his 2004 conversation with John Kerry on becoming the Democratic nominee’s running mate.

The Kerry-McCain encounter is an oft-told Washington snapshot, but Times reporter Elisabeth Bumiller claimed she had no hard evidence of the conversation. Yet before she even completed her query about whether Kerry had directly contacted McCain in ‘04, McCain interrupted her and attacked the question.

“Everybody knows that I had a private conversation. Everybody knows that. That I had a conversation. There’s no living American in Washington …” McCain said. “And you know it too. You know it. No, you know it. You know it. So I don’t even know why you ask.”

The testy back-and-forth took place on McCain’s campaign plane. The question was spurred by McCain’s comments earlier at an Atlanta town hall meeting where he was asked whether he’d return the favor and consider Kerry as his running mate.

The answer was “no.”

The questions are just going to get tougher as the campaign goes on. He's got to get a handle on this stuff or the press will make a game of looking for ways to set him off.

UPDATE: I saw the actual tape of the conversation between McCain and the NY Times reporter, and frankly, I think the reporting is a little overblown. McCain wasn't happy with the question, but he never lost control or appeared to overreact. The Dems are sending out emails calling him "Sen. Hothead", but anyone who sees the tape will have a hard time going along with that description.