Team Romney is insulting my intelligence when they call their rival “half of the proposed McCain-Kerry ‘04 ticket,” as they are today in press releases. (I note another NRO voice, on his radio program on Friday night, approvingly played audio of John Kerry claiming that John McCain approached him about being his running mate, not the other way around.)

First, the McCain stories were one of the first stories covered on the Kerry Spot, and we noted that McCain denied his interest every time it came up. When Kerry started claiming that McCain approached him, others noted that everyone around McCain describes it as Kerry approaching McCain, not the other way around, and Newsweek’s account is that Kerry “badly wanted” McCain as his running mate.

Didn’t all of us spend a certain amount of time in 2004 making the case to the American public that Senator John “cut off ears, cut off heads… razed villages in fashion reminiscent of ‘Jen-jis’ Khan” Kerry was not a trustworthy source?

Now that John McCain is the target du jour, we suddenly find John Kerry a man whose word is good enough to settle the issue? Come on.

When Romney’s campaign and those who strongly prefer Romney start suggesting that his assertion is enough to settle the issue, they’re either ignoring or attempting to undo a significant amount of effort — by conservative journalists, and in some cases, themselves – put into obliterating the credibility of John Kerry not too long ago.

UPDATE: For a different take, check the Corner.