Did the axis of evil just gain a member?

This one is pretty amazing. During an interview with Spanish reporters yesterday, Mr. Foreign Policy appeared to not know the prime minister of Spain. Sam Stein at the Huffington Post notes that after a discussion of policies toward Latin American countries, McCain was asked, "Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?" McCain responded, "I will meet with those leaders who are our friends and who want to work with us cooperatively." 

The reporter, unsatisfied with the generic nonanswer, asked, "OK, but I'm talking about Europe - the president of Spain, would you meet with him?" Stein seems to think McCain was suggesting he would not meet with the Spanish leader -- that Zapatero, a member of the Socialist Party -- would not meet the threshold of foreign leaders worth talking to.

I think that gives McCain too much credit. I haven't heard the interview, but from the account Stein gives, McCain seems to simply not know who the reporter meant when he said, "Would you be willing to meet with the head of our government, Mr. Zapatero?" If true, that is remarkable. 

UPDATE: Here's the audio. The exchange in question is toward the end. It's worth noting that the original question, which is described in the post above based on the translation of the interview, was actually, "Senator finally, let's talk about Spain. If you're elected President, would you be willing to invite President Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to the White House -- to meet with you."