Not that it’s not beyond the realm of possibility, but Kerry has lied before about far more important issues. Why would Kerry choose a one-time senator over a far more popular, time and again re-elected one, unless Kerry did the asking and McCain said no?
Bob Shrum, who worked for the Kerry-Edwards campaign, has since said Edwards had to be forced on Kerry by strategists concerned about delegate enthusiasm at the convention - which is why Edwards likely kept right on running, collecting a still-sizeable minority of the floor, and also claims Dick Gephardt was Kerry’s preference.