ELLE!Magazine! http://www.elle.com/lifeHlove/societyHcareer/meghanHmccainHinterview?src=rss! !
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! John!McCain!has!never!had!a!shortage!of!outspoken!women!surrounding!him.!When!his!mother,! Roberta!(incidentally,!still!alive!and!kicking!at!101),!received!a!report!that!the!Arizona!senator!was!
cursing!at!his!captors!during!his!fiveHyear!stint!as!a!POW!in!Vietnam,!she!famously!admonished,! “Johnny,!I’m!going!to!come!over!there!and!wash!your!mouth!out!with!soap!”!Despite!his!consistent! opposition!to!same!sex!marriage,!McCain’s!second!wife,!Cindy,!starred!in!an!ad!campaign,!along!with! the!likes!of!Perez!Hilton!and!Slash,!for!anti–Prop!8!group!NOH8!with!her!hand!on!her!heart!and!duct! tape!over!her!mouth.!And,!of!course,!who!can!forget!a!certain!maverick!from!Alaska….! TwentyHeightHyearHold!Meghan!McCain,!the!fourth!of!the!politician’s!seven!children,!is!no!different! from!the!rest!of!the!women!in!the!McCain!coterie.!Since!graduating!from!Columbia!in!2007,!the!junior! McCain—a!registered!Republican!who!describes!herself!as!“liberal!on!social!issues”—has!made!a! career!out!of!sharing!(and!overHsharing)!on!everything!from!politics!to!pop!culture.!She’s!taken!to!the! Internet!to!blast!her!home!state’s!immigration!legislation!(on!The!Daily!Beast,!where!she’s!a!regular! contributor)!and!call!Karl!Rove!“creepy”;!authored!two!books,!including!the!bestHselling!memoir!DirtySexy-Politics,!in!which!she!admitted!to!nearly!overdosing!on!Xanax!in!the!days!leading!up!to!the!2008! election;!and!has!become!a!mainstay!on!the!cable!news!circuit!with!appearances!on!Rachel-Maddow! and!Larry-King.! Unsurprisingly,!McCain!has!made!a!few!enemies!in!the!process:!Gawker!has!taken!to!referring!to!her! as!“noted!idiot!Meghan!McCain”!and!Laura!Ingraham!has!called!her!a!“Valley!girl.”!(For!the!record,!she! once!told!the!ladies!of!The-View!that!her!critics!can!“kiss!her!fat!ass.”)!This!fall,!McCain!makes!her! (inevitable)!realityHshow!debut!on!Raising-McCain,!a!realityHshowHmeetsHtalk!show!that!runs!the! gamut!in!topics!from!interviewing!New!York!City!councilwoman!Inez!Dickens!to!dating!in!the!era!of! Tinder.!The!show!premiered!on!September!14!at!10!P.M.!ET/9!P.M.!Central!on!Pivot,!Participant! Media’s!network!geared!toward!millennials,!which!launched!last!month.!While!gearing!up!for!the! debut,!McCain!called!ELLE!to!chat!about!her!new!project,!what!to!do!when!a!guy!won’t!stop!sexting! you,!and!why!she!feels!so!sorry!for!Malia!and!Sasha!Obama.! What'would'your'elevator'pitch'be'to'someone'who'hasn’t'seen'the'show?' I!wanted!to!do!something!that!was!similar!to!what!MTV!News!was!doing!when!I!was!younger.!Look,!I! don’t!watch![traditional]!talk!shows!like!people!in!older!generations!do.!I!consume!media!in!a!very! frenetic,!overtweeting!way.!I!wanted!to!do!a!talk!show!that!reflected!that.!So!we!shot!it!on!the!road— we!run!around!all!through!New!York!City.!There’s!no!fourth!wall.!It’s!hard!to!describe.!It’s!truly!a! unique!format—whether!or!not!people!like!it,!we’ll!see.! ! So'would'you'say'it’s'a'political'show?' Obviously,!there’s!some!politics,!because!politics!comes!up!in!conversation!in!a!lot!of!different!ways.! The!issues!we!cover!are!everything!from!coming!out!in!America!to!the!death!of!privacy!to!oversexed! culture!to!millennial!veterans.!But!I!would!never!call!it!a!political!talk!show—I!think!as!much!as!I’ve! worked!in!politics.!I’m!more!interested!in!what!unites!us!as!a!country,!and!what’s!popular!seems!to!be! the!shows!that!are!dividing!us!and!emphasizing!how!the!other!side!is!the!enemy,!and!that’s!not!what!I! want!to!do!with!my!life.! What'makes'you'a'compelling'host'for'this'particular'show?' I!just!think!I’m!the!average!allHAmerican!girl.!I!have!some!things!worked!out,!but!for!the!most!part!I’m! trying!to!figure!out!what!I’m!supposed!to!do!when!people!sext!me!pictures!after!only!two!dates.!Or,!am! I!a!feminist?!There!were!just!issues!that!weren’t!being!discussed!on!TV!that!were!affecting!my!life!on!a! daily!basis.!Like!the!sexting—what!do!you!do!when!you!like!a!guy,!and!he’s!sexting!you,!and!you’re! uncomfortable?!I!only!talked!to!my!girlfriends!about!it.!And!we!thought!that!would!be!a!great!episode.! ! So'what'do'you'do'in'that'situation?' Technology!hasn’t!killed!romance,!but!it!has!made!it!dormant.!As!a!general!rule,!I!wouldn’t!put! anything!in!a!text!or!eHmail!or!on!social!media!that!I!wouldn’t!want!the!whole!world!to!see.!That!being! said,!it!depends!how!much!you!like!the!guy.!My!takeaway!from!the!episode!is!that!social!media!is!a! mind!fuck.!
! Are'you'a'feminist?' That’s!one!of!the!main!questions!I!explore!in!the!show.!Because!I!didn’t!relate!to!the!old!adage!that!“a! woman!needs!a!man!like!a!fish!needs!a!bicycle.”!I!like!having!a!man!in!my!life,!and!I!like!male!attention.! Yet!I!still!want!equal!pay!and!more!women!running!for!office.!I!do!consider!myself!a!postfeminist.!I!just! want!women!to!have!choices—they!can!be!CEOs!of!Fortune-500!companies!or!they!can!be!stayHatH home!mothers!and!raise!their!kids!as!a!job.! ! Yet'you’re'also'proOlife?' I’ve!been!accused!of!being!antifeminist!for!that!reason.!But!the!idea!that!you!can’t!be!a!Republican!and! proHlife!and!still!be!a!feminist!is!dangerous.!I!am!proHlife,!but!I’m!not!for!repealing!Roe!v.!Wade.!I!don’t! want!to!tell!other!people!what!to!do!with!their!bodies.! ! That'actually'sounds'more'proOchoice'to'me.'Did'you'read''Lean'In'?' I!read!part!of!it.!I!think!Sheryl!Sandberg’s!doing!a!lot!of!good!things,!but!I!don’t!agree!with!the!whole! “the!best!decision!you!could!make!is!who!you!marry”!statement!in!the!book.!I!don’t!meet!a!lot!of!great! guys.!A!lot!of!people!have!dating!issues,!and!how!can!your!success!ever!be!determined!by!a!man?!She’s! such!a!cool!woman!and!on!top!of!Facebook,!but!that!didn’t!sit!well!with!me.! ! Has'your'dad'seen'the'show?' He!liked!it,!thank!God.!I!interview!him!and!my!mom!for!the!season!finale.! ! His'approval'seems'important'to'you,'but'you’re'not'shy'about'criticizing'some'of'his'policies.' Does'it'ever'concern'you'that'you'might'hurt'his'career?' The!only!thing!I!don’t!like!about!being!so!open!about!my!opinions!is!the!media!wants!to!pit!me!against! my!dad,!as!if!I’m!going!to!let!politics!get!in!the!way!of!our!relationship.!I’ve!never!had!an!instance! where!something!I’ve!said!publicly!has!gotten!in!the!way!of!my!relationship!with!my!dad.!He!gave!an! interview!a!year!ago!where!he!said!“I!may!not!agree!with!her!but!I!respect!her!views.”!That!was!a! really!wonderful!thing!for!him!to!say.!I’m!really!lucky.!If!my!parents!weren’t!so!cool,!it!could!go!south! really!quickly.!I!don’t!know!what!other!families!are!like;!other!parents!could!get!pissed.!I!talk!to!him! about!a!lot!of!issues!and!try!to!get!him!on!my!side.!I’d!like!him!to!come!around!to!gay!marriage.! ! Funny'you'say'that.'Your'mom'used'that'same'choice'of'words'in'June,'to'describe'the'fact'that' your'dad'was'in'fact'“coming'around”'to'gay'marriage.! I!hope!so.!It’s!not!his!passion.!He’s!so!involved!with!the!Middle!East!and!the!economy.!I!would!take!my! mom’s!word!for!it,!though.!If!she!says!he’s!coming!around,!he!is.! ! Did'you'hear'that'Barbara'Bush,'George'W.'Bush’s'daughter,'said'she'thought'Hillary'would' make'a'great'candidate'in'2016?' I!did!not!hear!that,!but!good!for!her.! Really?'You'don’t'see'that'as'a'betrayal'to'your'party?' No.!I!think!everyone!should!feel!free!to!say!whatever!they!think.!I!also!think!Republicans!have!put!so! much!emphasis!on!birth!control!or!saying!that!our!gay!friends!aren’t!allowed!to!get!married,!which! completely!goes!against!what!being!an!American!means.!If!Republicans!keep!nominating!people!who! are!socially!conservative,!we’re!going!to!continue!losing!elections.!I!don’t!think!I!would!vote!for!Hillary! Clinton—it!depends!on!who!the!Republican!nominee!is—but!as!a!woman!I!see!how!it!is!appealing!for! Barbara!to!want!to!see!a!woman!running!for!office.!A!lot!of!the!issues!in!this!country!would!be!solved!if! more!women!were!running!for!office.!We!do!shit!better.!We!handle!things.! ! Speaking'of,'what'about'Sarah'Palin?'Do'you'think'she’s'relevant'to'Republican'politics?'
She’ll!always!have!a!place!and!a!following!in!American!politics.!But!if!you!want!to!be!taken!seriously!in! politics,!you!can’t!do![reality-TV].!She’s!made!some!notHsoHsmart!decisions!in!the!past!seven!years.!But! everyone!likes!a!good!comeback,!so!I’d!never!count!her!out.! ! Does'that'mean'you’d'like'to'see'Palin'2016?' I’d!like!to!see!some!new!blood.!I!really!want!new!people!with!new!ideas.! ! Your'dad'said'after'the'2008'election'that'he'was'“kind'of'relieved”'he'wasn’t'elected'president.' Were'you'similarly'relieved'to'have'skipped'being'first'daughter?'You'probably'couldn’t'do'this' show.' I!most!certainly!wouldn’t!have!been!able!to.!I!think!the!idea!of!first!daughter!kind!of!seems!like!jail,!and! I’m!happy!I!didn’t!have!to!do!that.!My!heart!always!goes!out!to!Sasha!and!Malia.!I!couldn’t!imagine! spending!my!formative!years!under!that!kind!of!scrutiny.!It!doesn’t!seem!like!a!fun!gig!to!me.!I!think! my!father!would!have!made!an!amazing!president,!and!I!was!willing!to!make!the!sacrifice!almost!seven! years!ago,!which!seems!like!a!long!time!ago!now.!No,!but!I!don’t!think!being!first!daughter!sounds! awesome!at!all.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !