Meghan McCain on the politics of Thanksgiving dinner

After she was kicked off her father’s plane, she went to an image consultant in Los Angeles, who told her to cut her hair and dress more conservatively. “I did all those things, but I was still swearing a lot,” she says. “It was a very intense situation. My job was to stand still and look pretty.”

Eventually, she was allowed to campaign for her father on her own.

McCain defends her status as a Republican, saying she passed an online “purity test.” She describes herself as “personally pro-life,” but believes abortion should remain legal. She also opposes abstinence-only sex education. And, in views her father would certainly be happier to hear, she favors a strong national defense, as well as the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On the politics of 2012, she’s ready to sign on to Team Romney, though it’s not clear if the feeling is mutual. (Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney hasn’t announced yet if he’s running for president again, but is widely expected to.) Senator McCain's surprise selection of then-Alaska Governor Palin as his running mate in 2008 clearly still rankles Meghan. She rejects a suggestion that Palin could be her dad’s biggest legacy when all is said and done – more than his years as a Vietnam POW and in the Senate.

“My dad’s a rock star,” she says.

For McCain, the highlight of her Miami book fair appearance seemed to come when a tall, cute guy from the audience came to the microphone to ask a question.

“Were you on 'The Real World'?!” McCain said, her eyes lighting up.

The man smiled, then replied. “Meghan, is that really the most interesting thing going on right now in this room?”

“I’m a child of pop culture, honey,” McCain replied. “I recognize you.” She even remembered his name: Dan.

“You look fantastic,” she said.

“So do you,” he replied. “We should go get drinks.”

Back in July, Democratic Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, the chairman of the Senate's Armed Services committee, commented on 'Don't ask, don't tell' at a Monitor Breakfast.

Previous

1 | 2