The Trail

DID HE OR DIDN'T HE?

McCain Disputes Accounts, Says He Voted for Bush

Two Hollywood actors who dined with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) in early 2001 at actress Candice Bergen's home confirmed reports that he told the assembled group he did not vote for George W. Bush in the 2000 election, but McCain denied the claim at a news conference.

In separate phone interviews, Bradley Whitford and Richard Schiff -- both of whom starred in television's "The West Wing" -- said late Thursday night that the senator made the remarks after he spoke at length about his reservations about Bush becoming president. Liberal blogger Arianna Huffington first wrote about the incident Monday, asserting that neither McCain nor his wife Cindy backed Bush in his first presidential bid, and the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday that an unidentified woman who was also at the dinner confirmed Huffington's account.

McCain's aides denied the allegations Tuesday, and yesterday McCain did so himself.

"I voted, campaigned for, worked as hard as I could for President Bush's election in 2000 and 2004," he told reporters in New Jersey. "It's nonsense."

McCain called the dispute "hardly worth our time," adding: "This happened eight years ago."

Whitford and Schiff both recalled how McCain had conveyed his opposition to Bush just days before the inauguration.

"He was going on and on about how horribly unqualified and untested Bush was, how the campaign had attacked his family," said Whitford, a registered Democrat. "Someone said, 'If he's so terrible, why did you support him?' "

According to Whitford, McCain replied that, as a member of the GOP, he always intended to back the party's nominee. Then, the actor said, someone asked McCain whether he had voted for Bush.

"He put his finger up to his lips, shook his head and mouthed, 'No way,' " Whitford said.

Schiff remembered the conversation the same way. "My memory was he said pretty clearly, no, he did not vote for him," he said. "I discussed it with others afterwards. It was clear to everyone he said no. Did he shout it from the rooftops? No."

Schiff, a registered independent, said he was discussing the exchange, which he had considered private, only because Huffington already had made it public.