McCain never really considered Romney?

This just may be after-the-fact story control from the McCain campaign, but the Washington Post reports that Romney was never a serious consideration and Palin was on the short list since February:

McCain’s advisers conducted interviews with a number of the prospective choices, but McCain did not. Most he knew well enough to have a sense of their personalities, policy positions and character. Among those who never met personally with McCain was Romney. The two men had waged a bitter and often-personal battle for the Republican nomination and when the primaries ended, Romney seemed an unlikely choice because of their distant personal relationship. . .

Spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom said Romney harbors no ill feelings toward McCain, having never believed he would be the running mate. “It never seemed likely to us because they disagreed on some issues during the primaries, and there were so many other good Republicans to choose from, including Sarah Palin,” he said. But some close associates said that Romney’s advisers were angry about having been strung along until the last minute.

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