Some comments yesterday from John McCain will do nothing to stop a rumor that's been going around, that he plans to resign from the Senate in order to campaign for president full time, just as Bob Dole did in 1996.

Asked by the Arizona Republic whether this is true, McCain said that he has no plans to resign "right now," but he was clearly leaving the door open:

"Look, if I have the nomination, then we will decide whether I would remain in the Senate until after I'm elected president, if I'm elected president, or not. And the time to begin that process of thinking is after I have the nomination of the party. But right now, I have no inclination to leave the United States Senate early. So that's my position at this time. But ... if and when I win the nomination, I will then make that decision. But, right now, it is my intention to remain in the United States Senate."

If McCain were to resign, state law dictates that Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano, a Democrat who supports Barack Obama, would have to appoint a fellow Republican to replace McCain.