That’s what John McCain told a reporter for Newsweek Magazine:

Many of the GOP’s most faithful, the kind who vote in primaries despite 115-degree heat, tired long ago of McCain the Maverick, the man who had crossed the aisle to work with Democrats on issues like immigration reform, global warming, and restricting campaign contributions. “Maverick” is a mantle McCain no longer claims; in fact, he now denies he ever was one. “I never considered myself a maverick,” he told me. “I consider myself a person who serves the people of Arizona to the best of his abilities.” Yet here was Palin, urging her fans four times in 15 minutes to send McCain the Maverick back to Washington.

It’s hard to tell if McCain is lying or not here. In his 2008 campaign, he flip-flopped and told his base what they wanted to hear so often, you could not tell what he really believed and what was simply the party line he had resigned himself to follow, do or die. One thing for certain, he did not shy away from the “Maverick” handle then–it was, in fact, the primary persona that he ran on.

To hear him now claim that he never considered himself a maverick is not surprising, it’s just a question of whether he let his guard down and told the truth, or if he simply flip-flopped yet again. Maybe he believed himself both times when he said both things. Hard to say.

The only thing that is clear is that the man is essentially made up of a tissue of lies, spoken solely to get himself elected.