Kerry Only Joking on V.P.

Sen. John F. Kerry’s joking over his vice presidential choice caused some confusion Friday.

Shortly after the presumed Democratic candidate jokingly told a Detroit radio interviewer that he had come on the show to announce his running mate, rumors flew that he said he would pick a running mate in a matter of days. The Kerry campaign made things worse when it released an inaccurate transcript of his interview with WJR.

According to the campaign’s transcript, Kerry was asked who he was considering for vice president. “Kerry: Yeah, we’ll have that done very, very shortly.... We’ll have it done in a matter of days.”

CNN then reported Kerry would be making a decision soon. But Kerry’s campaign said he was joking with the interviewer, and CNN retracted the report. Kerry grinned when told his interview was taken seriously. “Don’t ever write about me being dour and sober and somber.”

The actual transcript shows Kerry was answering a question about picking a Michigan campaign chief.