The Curious Case of Meghan McCain

By Fernanda Diaz

In a 2007 Salon piece about Meghan McCain's debut into the mainstream, her father, John McCain, responded to a question about whether he approved of his daughter's openness about her tattoo and music tastes on her blog project about the campaign trail. In retrospect, his answer seems almost prophetic: "She's having fun. I want her to enjoy the campaign. It's once in a lifetime. And then I want her to get a job."

Almost a full year after McCain lost the election, Ms. McCain, age 24, seems to like sticking with the "fun" part and only teasing us about the "job" part. It's possible that she's under the impression that the practice of generating baseless buzz constitutes a politically-minded career, but it seems like the right time to agree, as her audience and generational peers, that it's not enough.

Meghan McCain has spent the first part of her 20s in the spotlight mostly by choice. Tweeting and "straight-talking" around the campaign bus and a handful of talk-show panels and chronicling it all on McCainBlogette.com, she fulfilled her self-imposed desire to contribute to the campaign "on her own terms." Her "youthful" and "independent" take on the campaign amounted to two parts blogging, one part sex, and only a teaspoon of politics--a recipe that produced a lot of buzz but no coherent statement out of its tantalizing ingredients.

In the beginning, her boldness was admirable. It was vague and sparkly, sure, but it was a boldness that wasn't rooted in prejudice or neo-con dogma, and this was sufficient to hint at a positive future as a young Republican for a new era. She was the alt-rock to Sarah Palin's folk, and how could that be a bad thing?

Unfortunately, when her father's campaign ended, her own kept going in an ambiguous and overexposed direction. As a member of the celebutante punditry, she has done her job--but what about her role as a member of the political youth? Our generation is defined by the record numbers of political engagement--voting, volunteering, even just clicking petitions online. McCain has embraced the world of virtual and 24-hour debate, but embracing it is only the first step.

So far, McCain has a commendable urgency to speak but a maddening lack of preparation. Her hair remains perfectly shaped as her arguments fizzle, evidenced by the fact that her punditry career hasn't risen above debate killers like: "I wasn't born yet, so I don't know," "No one knows what war is like other than my family," and "Let's agree to disagree." If her political "activism" continues to amounts to confusing columns on The Daily Beast about her pro-sex but pro-life views and defensive comments about body image, not even her gaffes will continue to get attention. And that will be a waste of all her efforts.

I've liked McCain for as long as I've known about her--she graduated from my marginally-Marxist Alma Mater, Columbia University, she uses as many "likes" in her speech as most of the people I know, and she loves talking about her curves, the internet, and beer. But there was always a grain of unfulfilled promise that grew as fast as she tweeted, and it irks me to see her resorting to easy references to her emotions and her ironic Republican-ness much more often than to weighty facts, figures, and reporting.

When her personality quirks morphed into her entire message, it became clear that this was preventing her from expanding into more substantive discussion. She has made her views about herself be the message, individualistically and obsessively, as any good Republican might do. That may have been cute during the campaign, but it was tolerable because it had a very specific goal in mind: help elect her father president. Now that she has gained the power of influence, she needs a new goal, stat.

Meghan McCain has everything going for her, since she doesn't seem to be fazed by criticism, has the perfect look for TV, and has virtually no competition. Now all she needs are some issues to care about and passionately articulate on--regardless of whether they're about her breasts or troop escalation--in a way that reflects her progressive views as a Republican instead of her progressive skills at internet celebrity.

Comments (14)

1. Meghan McCain is in an interesting position. On the one hand, she has the potential to change the republican party in a revolutionary way. Not only does she have charisma, but also social and political views that, at least some times, appear to be logically devised rather than dogmatic. Also, her views on many social issues in particular are obviously out of the Republican mainstream, and are views the republican party is going to have warm up to if it wishes to remain (become?) a viable party. But on the other hand, as Ms. Diaz points out, she, like most republicans, seems to care more about herself than anyone else, so probably wont. Thanks to Ms. Diaz for this piece, looking forward to more in the future.

   Posted by ovr8srvd at 10/20/2009 @ 1:16pm

2. But she's not aging in reverse-- why the title?

   Posted by habiba at 10/20/2009 @ 1:25pm

3. She's not phased by criticism? Are you kidding? She folds under criticism and resorts to a primal retort about "I'm just the blonde sitting here." Or some such nonsense. And the perfect look for tv? All she wears is black in some vain and futile attempt to disguise her weight. Which for the record I have no issue with in itself, but her false bravado about being happy as a curvy woman is contradicted by her love of black.

   McCain is devoid of any intelligent political thought. The left seems to adore her only when she acts as a Trojan horse, only to be disappointed when she doesn't disavow the right. She has as much business being in politics as Julian Lennon did in music.

   Posted by manostorgo at 10/20/2009 @ 2:31pm

4. Very well written and interesting article. My only comment is that Ms. McCain is the only Republican around that has a personality that is not disgusting and is at least literate. So she talks about her boobs; at least she is not a BOOB like Palin and the rest of the crazies.

   Posted by Yankeluh at 10/20/2009 @ 3:00pm

5. Give her a few years to really grow up. Then watch out.

   Definitely don't see her getting sucked into that intellectual vacuum called a new con repub ideology.

   And if she's smart enough to avoid the void, she's smart enough to last past this stage...

   Posted by hsuBfools at 10/20/2009 @ 3:09pm

6. Bottle blonds are rarely taken seriously regardless of gender, weight or political persuasion. Her 15 minutes of fame should have ended long ago, now she is just an afterthought.

   Posted by mjlegel at 10/20/2009 @ 3:13pm

7. "She has made her views about herself be the message..."

   If that is true, what are we to make of Meghan's ardent support of gay marriage (http://preview.tinyurl.com/yfe6s35, http://preview.tinyurl.com/d4gfq3), her desire for a clear message from Republican women (http://preview.tinyurl.com/dk33zp), her fight to get the GOP to better reach young voters (http://preview.tinyurl.com/bsj495), the lessons she thinks the right can learn from the left (http://preview.tinyurl.com/n449zy), and her argument against abstinence-only education (http://preview.tinyurl.com/d2h62n)? None of those views strike me as "individualistic" or "obsessive". All the above seems to clash with your closing statement that "Now all she needs are some issues to care about and passionately articulate ... instead of her progressive skills at internet celebrity. "

   I've always been a democrat. I voted for Obama and I'm 99.9% sure I'll vote for him next time too. But Meghan is the first young woman in the political sphere whose views have actually drawn my interest. I'm not suggesting Meghan is perfect, nor that she hasn't made mistakes. But the reason I pay attention to what she has to say, regardless of whether I agree, is exactly because she wears her flawed "personality quirks" on her sleeve-- her "internet celebrity" skills--because she is a young, very human woman to whom I can relate. No one starts a career in political commentary or punditry this young without hitting some stumbling blocks along the way.

   Besides, she does have a job: writing as a passionate member of the political youth, hoping to influence millions - just like you.

   Posted by mdatskovsky at 10/20/2009 @ 6:27pm

8. Meghan McCain is a moron. I've read numerous articles she's written on the Daily Beast and they are all terrible, unfocused, and completely devoid of original thought. Hopefully the media will stop fawning over her and treat her like the imbecilic child she is: i.e. stop publishing her shlock. You should need more than just being the daughter of a two-time presidential loser to get the platform she has been granted.

   Posted by fl2727 at 10/20/2009 @ 8:31pm

9. Perhaps you should go back to your "marginally-Marxist Alma Mater, Columbia University" and brush up on your English. "Phased"? Try "fazed". "Articulate on"? Puh-leeze. On the other hand, I suppose it is, like, only fitting that an illiterate would, like, choose Megan McCain as her, like, subject matter.

   Posted by MGill at 10/21/2009 @ 12:24am

10. I like Meghan McCain, and I'm a Democrat! She appears to be bright, and articulate young woman. The fact that she really dislikes Palin also helps a great deal in liking her. At least she has some common sense. Her Dad should be proud.

    Posted by sheila60 at 10/21/2009 @ 08:03am

11. Who cares! If Americans paid more attention to their politics and less to their celebrities, we would not be in our present troubles.

    Posted by goedel at 10/21/2009 @ 08:54am

12. "Perhaps you should go back to your "marginally-Marxist Alma Mater, Columbia University" and brush up on your English. "Phased"? Try "fazed". "Articulate on"? Puh-leeze. On the other hand, I suppose it is, like, only fitting that an illiterate would, like, choose Megan McCain as her, like, subject matter."

    Way to avoid engaging in any of the relevant points made in the article!

    Seriously, if you're trying to act like you're smarter than Ms. Diaz, at least have the balls to come up with a counterargument or two, rather than just making cheap ad hominem attacks based on a few colloquialisms she used in her writing.

    Posted by badreligionlover at 10/21/2009 @ 10:15am

13. this is so funny, an article about ms. mc cain, we have opinions on our opinion people! i guess i have to comment too. i do like her, i read everything she writes. she is the same age as my eldest daughter, but she doesn't write as well. she has a bit of a funnel from her brain to her laptop though. if i were to coach her i'd tell her to research and report, opinions are all good but she is in the position to do a lot of good for this country if she can become a voice of knowledge as well as opinion. i would love to see her take her place as this generations pat buchanan!

    Posted by hrazaa at 10/21/2009 @ 12:09pm

14. I have never gotten past her saying she fell in love with the Republican party during the campaign. What on earth did she see in that sleazy campaign put on by the Repubs. to love. I have always wished she would answer that, I ask her through her blog and never got an answer.

    Posted by corinne1952 at 10/22/2009 @ 7:03pm