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Sen. John McCain, on a just completed blogger call, said that while it is his intention to remain in the U.S. Senate, he would take time once he sews up the Republican presidential nomination to consider whether to give up his seat early.

Asked about speculation that he would leave his Arizona Senate seat before the November election, perhaps to make room for outgoing Rep. John Shadegg, McCain did not dismiss the possibility out of hand, but said he would consider the option. He was also sure to emphasize, "Right now I have no inclination to leave the United States Senate early."

As for other matters, McCain noted that he made "significant progress on the delegate count" last night and touted the endorsement of the House Republican leadership today as "another step in the process of uniting the party." He said he understands that he still has a lot of work on that front, but is confident that he'll be able to achieve unity.

McCain also remained unwilling to exert pressure on Mike Huckabee to leave the race. "I respect him, I like him," McCain said. "I will not in any way try to dissuade him from continuing his campaign." He acknowledged, though, that "my understandable inclinations are to get this thing wrapped up as quickly as possible."

Other topics discussed included:

VP Selections--McCain said he hadn't started the process yet, that he's too superstitious and has been too focused on securing the nomination.

Mitt Romney -- McCain's staff has been in touch with Gov. Romney's staff over an appropriate time to meet.

FISA, and Barack Obama's judgment --McCain said that if the government comes to a company and asks them for information citing national security reasons, they are going to hand over the information, and should be legally protected. He didn't want to say whether Obama had the judgment to be commander in chief, but said Obama would have to be judged by his record, and he was wrong when called for withdrawal from Iraq, he was wrong saying the conflict couldn't be won militarily, and wrong on saying the Iraqi government couldn't function. He said their disagreement on the eavesdropping vote is just "one of many stark differences" between the two candidates.

Gitmo tribunals-- McCain said he is in favor of the tribunals, and that these individuals do not deserve the same legal rights as U.S. citizens. The tribunals are "appropriate, and they are the way to address these types of cases." He just wishes we hadn't waited so long.

Continuing blogger calls: "You were the only ones who would listen to me for a period of months, you think I'm gonna bail on you?"

topics:
John McCain, Barack Obama, Iraq