It appears that McCain seriously considered, and even intered into talks with Senate Democrats, the idea of leaving the GOP in early 2001. The whole story is here.

This can't help "The Straight Talk Express."

And while I'm on the topic, McCain has said that he might not beat Romney in fundraising this quarter because he got a late start and because he's not very good at it. That is called "spin" folks.

If he can raise expectations for his opponent and lower expectations for himself, it plays to his advantage by either diluting the impact of a poor performance, or making a strong performance seem even better. Besides, what does he mean he got a late start? His exploratory committee, which allowed him to raise funds, was in operation a month before Romney's.