Updated

Arizona Sen. John McCain (search) is considering a 2008 run for president but says it's unlikely he'd take the No. 2 spot.

In an appearance Sunday at a fund-raiser for a local New York candidate, the Republican seemed to humorously rule out ever accepting a vice presidential post.

"I spent all those years in a North Vietnamese prison camp, kept in the dark, fed scraps, why the hell would I want to do that all over again?" he said, the New York Daily News reported in Monday editions.

McCain, who ran for president in 2000, was re-elected to a six-year Senate term in 2004.

He told the newspaper that he was seriously considering a 2008 bid. As he has before, McCain said he will wait until after the 2006 election to decide about his political future.

The Staten Island fund-raiser brought in $200 per person for Borough President James Molinaro (search), who is running for re-election.