McCain praises Kerry as potential Gore running mate

From CNN Capitol Hill Producer Dana Bash

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry, a potential running mate for Vice President Al Gore, got a plug Wednesday from former GOP presidential hopeful Sen. John McCain as they appeared together at a Capitol Hill news conference.

"I think it would be very helpful to Vice President Gore. I think that Sen. Kerry has proved his service to our nation, and his ability as an accomplished debater and a person who knows the issues. Therefore I strongly recommend that Vice President Gore not select Sen. Kerry as his running mate," joked McCain, R-Arizona.

Sen. John Kerry, D-Massachusetts

On a more serious note, McCain added later, "I think that the best Americans from both parties should be the nominees of their parties, so that the American people would have the very best to select from, and I would certainly put Sen. Kerry in that category."

For his part, Kerry -- who attended a Democratic National Committee fund-raiser with Gore on Tuesday night -- said he would not take part in the speculation.

"It's a process which they have requested be private. You are talking about lists," Kerry said. "I read the papers and I'm sort of one of those watching as well as participating. But I've committed, as I think every participant has, that this is a private process and I want to respect that process."

But like many Democrats in the past two days, Kerry was critical of Texas Gov. George W. Bush's vice presidential pick -- former Defense Secretary Dick Cheney. Bush, the presumptive Republican nominee in November, formally named Cheney to the ticket on Tuesday.

"I have enormous respect for him as a person and I like him. But I just really don't agree with him on a lot of issues," Kerry said. "And I find so many of his votes to represent a different vision of the country than I and my colleagues are fighting for.

"I don't know how you vote against Head Start," Kerry said. "I don't know how you vote not to free Nelson Mandela from prison. I don't know how you vote against Superfund and the Clean Water Act and the Safe Drinking Water Act."