Barney Frank: I would accept temporary appointment to John Kerry's Senate seat

On Friday, Massachusetts congressman Rep. Barney Frank (D) announced that he has spoken to Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick about the possibility of accepting a temporary appointment to Sen. John Kerry (D-MA)'s seat in the U.S. Senate should Kerry be confirmed as U.S. Secretary of State.

After 32 years in the U.S. House of Representatives, Frank retired yesterday, but may not be leaving public life altogether.  In an appearance on Friday morning's "Morning Joe," host (and former Florida Republican Rep.) Joe Scarborough asked, "Would you consider possibly being future Senator Barney Frank if the governor calls you and says, 'Hey, could you fill in for a couple months?'"

"A month ago, well, a few weeks ago, in fact, I said I wasn't interested," Frank replied.  "It was kind of like, you're about to graduate and they said, you've got to go to summer school. But that [fiscal cliff] deal now means that February, March, and April are going to be among the most important months in American financial history."

He continued, "Yes, in fact, I'm not going to be coy, it's not anything I've ever been good at. I've told the governor that I would now like, frankly, to be a part of that. It's only a three-month period, I wouldn't want to do anything more, I don't want to run again.  To be honest, it's a little arrogant, 'Coach, put me in.'"

He made it plain, however, that he wants to keep his title as Congressman.  "32 years in the House, three months in the Senate?  I'm a House member," he said.

Watch the video, embedded via Talking Points Memo, below: