USA!Today! http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2013/11/14/meghanHmccainHcollege/3541215/! ! !
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! When!it!comes!to!recalling!boozy!nights!of!regretful!tweets!or!her!history!of!smoking!marijuana,! Meghan!McCain,!daughter!of!Arizona!Senator!John!McCain,!has!few!reservations.! She's!unafraid!to!curse!during!public!appearances.!And!her!views!on!a!variety!of!social!issues!—!gay! marriage!and!marijuana!legalization!included!—!swing!far!to!the!left.! McCain,!29,!says!what's!on!her!mind!—!even!if!it!means!engaging!in!some!very!public,!at!times!very! barbed,!nameHcalling!on!daytime!TV!shows!and!radio!programs!(recall!her!wrangles!with! commentator!Laura!Ingraham!or,!more!recently,!Gov.!Chris!Christie).! Needless!to!say,!she!doesn't!follow!the!pattern!many!may!have!for!the!daughter!of!an!esteemed! Republican!Senator.!But!she!doesn't!seem!to!mind!..!or!care.!In!fact,!is!precisely!her!message!to!young! Americans:!You!don't!have!to!conform!in!order!to!have!a!voice.! Last!weekend,!McCain!traced!her!journey!from!political!spotlight!to!journalism!to!the!first!season!of! Raising-McCain!—!the!TV!show!she!hosts!on!Pivot!—!as!the!keynote!speaker!at!the!One!Day!Immersion! conference!in!New!York!City.! After!her!speech,!McCain!spoke!with!USA!TODAY!College.!These!are!excerpts!from!the!conversation.! Q:'Why'did'you'agree'to'attend'this'conference?'Do'you'enjoy'speaking'to'young'people?! A:'I!really!only!like!speaking!to!young!people!if!I!have!my!choice.!I!speak!to!a!whole!variety!of!people,! but!I!find!young!people!the!best!audiences!to!speak!to!because!they're!normally!the!most!curious,! they're!the!most!openHminded!and!they're!always!good!crowds!...!they're!enthusiastic!and!interested.! Some!times!you!speak!to!people!and!they!look!bored.!It's!fun!for!me!too!because!I!think!young!people! ask!the!most!interesting!questions.!
What'does'your'schedule'look'like'these'days?! I!got!done!filming![season!one!of!"Raising!McCain"]!in!August,!and!I!have!been!doing!media!stuff!since! Sept.!14.!I've!been!doing!so!much!media!I!can't!even!believe!it.!Then!just!this!week,!I!was!like![this! conference]!has!to!be!my!last!event!for!a!little!while.!I!think!I'm!going!to!take!off!through!Thanksgiving! and!then!go!back.!I!have!some!press!lined!up!in!the!beginning!of!December.!Then!hopefully!we'll!start! Season!2!…!or!I've!got!some!other!offers,!so!I!have!to!make!some!decisions!about!my!next!move.! Did'you'find'filming'"Raising'McCain"'to'be'a'liberating'experience'for'you?! Totally.!When!I!was!working!at!MSNBC!—!I!really!value!my!experience!there,!I!was!there!for!a!year!—! it!was!during!the![2012!presidential]!election!and!I!really!thought!that's!what!I!wanted.!I!thought!I! wanted!to!be!a!pundit!on!cable!news!and!that!was!going!to!be!the!move.!! But!I!didn't!like!it.!I!don't!like!fighting!everyday.!I!don't!like!having!to!say,!"Is!it!good!or!is!it!bad?!Is!this! Republican!or!is!this!Democrat?"!because!I!think!the!world!is!gray.!When!I!had!this!opportunity!to! wear!Converse!every!day!and!swear!and!talk!about!the!issues!I!wanted,!I!jumped!at!it.! Young!TV!news!doesn't!exist!anymore!and!I!really!wanted!to!do!news!content!that!was!directed! toward!young!people.! Season'One'ends'next'Saturday.'Have'you'enjoyed'watching'it?! Filming!it!was!way!more!fun!than!watching!it.![Laughs.]!There!are!things!I!would!tweak,!but!it!is!such!a! weird!medium!—!documentary/talkHshow.!There!are!things!I!would!change,!but!as!a!general!whole! I'm!really!happy!with!it.! The!thing!I!like!about!my!show!is!I!can!show!it!to!12HyearHolds,!and!to!my!mom!and!to!my!grandma.!I! never!want!to!do!anything!that!I!can't!show!my!mom!or!my!sister.!I!have!definitely!done!things!in!the! past!where!I'm!like,!"I!really!hope!my!mother!doesn't!see!this."!But!this!show!I'm!really!proud!of.! “I-think-it's-very-dangerous,-the-idea-that-you-have-to-look-perfect,-prim-and-proper,-and-be-an-old-white-
male-to-have-a-voice-in-America.-I-think-it's-very-dangerous,-very-scary.-I-just-never-wanted-to-change-thatmuch.-I-wanted-my-personal-life-to-reconcile-with-my-professional-life.”—-Meghan-McCainDoes'your'dad'watch'the'show?! Yeah,!he!does.!He!really!likes!it,!but!I!think!my!dad!would!like!it!if!I!went!to!clown!school!and!rode!a! unicycle!for!a!living.!He's!very!proud.!I!interviewed!him!in!the!episode!before!last!and!he!really!liked!it.! [My!parents]!are!supportive!—!weirdly.! In'your'keynote'address,'you'talked'about'how'you'were'writing'a'daily'blog'during'your' father's'presidential'campaign'in'2008.'And'you'talked'about'being'removed'from'the' campaign'after'you'clashed'with'some'of'his'advisors.'Can'you'talk'a'little'about'that?! I!was!so!upset.!! At!the!time!when!that!happened!I!was!crushed!because!I!thought!that!there!was!something!wrong! with!me.!I!was!like,!"Why!am!I!so!unaccepted?!Is!this!really!how!it's!going?"!I!think!if!some!of!my!dad's!
advisors!had!had!their!way,!I!would!have!gone!home,!but!they!couldn't!just!kick!me!off!a!daily!blog.! People!would!have!noticed;!it!would!have!caused!more!of!a!distraction.! That!tour!that!I!went!on!was!really!serendipitous!because!I!had!to!do!everything!on!my!own.!I!was!the! one!talking!to!people.!I!was!the!one!shaking!hands.!It!showed!me!that!I!was!good!at!it!and!that!I!liked! it.!That!led!me!to!things!like!["Raising!McCain"],!so!it!was!embarrassing!in!the!moment,!but!a!blessing! in!disguise.! Do'you'think'people'expect'you'to'be'somebody'else,'being'the'daughter'of'a'wellOknown' Republican'Senator?! I!think!the!accolades!are!a!little!nicer!and!the!criticism!is!a!little!harsher.!That's!just!how!the!game!is! played.!People!really!love!me!and!people!really!love!to!hate!me.!I!have!as!tough!skin!as!I!think!I!can! have.![Criticism]!usually!doesn't!last!that!long,!but!it!still!affects!me!from!time!to!time.!I!can't!sit!here! and!be!like,!"It!just!rolls!off!my!back!and!it!never!bothers!me"!because!it!still!does.! What's'your'message'to'young'people?! You!don't!have!to!conform!to!have!a!voice.!I!think!it's!very!dangerous,!the!idea!that!you!have!to!look! perfect,!prim!and!proper,!and!be!an!old!white!male!to!have!a!voice!in!America.!I!think!it's!very! dangerous,!very!scary.!I!just!never!wanted!to!change!that!much.!I!wanted!my!personal!life!to!reconcile! with!my!professional!life.!I!know!a!lot!of!people!who!are!quite!different!when!the!cameras!are!off!or! when!they!have!a!few!drinks!in!them!at!a!cocktail!party!then!they!are!on!camera.!I!never!want!anyone! to!say,!"I!met!Meghan!McCain!and!she's!a!completely!different!person!when!we're!sitting!here!then!she! was!on!camera."! Is'part'of'your'goal'to'inspire'more'young'people'to'get'behind'the'Republican'Party?! When!I!was!growing!up,!I!never!saw!anybody!on!TV!that!looked!like!a!cool!Republican!—!as!terrible!as! that!sounds.!! I!just!want!people!to!know!that!you!can!be!a!cool!Republican.!I!remember!on!my!dad's!campaign,!I!met! a!woman!who!was!a!Republican!supporter!and!she!had!pink!hair!and!tattoos.!I!was!like,!"You're!a! Republican!!Yes!!You!look!so!different!than!everybody!else!in!this!room!"!! I!just!think!it's!important!to!show!different!faces.!Of!course,!I!would!love!for!more!young!people!to! become!Republicans,!but!not!all!of!that!is!on!me.! My!feelings!about!Hillary![Clinton]!are!so!conflicted!at!the!moment!because!I!don't!agree!with!her!on! many!things,!but!I!really!want!to!see!a!woman!president.!I!understand!the!idea!that!if!you!see!someone! that!relates!to!you,!you're!more!inclined!to!vote!for!them.! Would'you'ever'get'behind'a'Clinton'campaign?! If!she's!up!against!somebody!like!Rick!Santorum!or!a!hyperHsocial!conservative!or!a!Tea!Partier,! probably.! Would'we'see'you'on'TV'now'if'your'dad'hadn't'run'for'president?! If!my!father!had!never!run!for!president,!I!probably!would!have!kept!writing.!I!loved!my!internship!at! Newsweek!and!I!was!good!at!it.!It!was!such!an!amazing!process!to!pitch!something!Monday!morning! and!then!see!it!in!the!magazine!on!Friday.!I!fell!into!TV!more!than!anything.!
Sarah'Palin'has'also'done'some'reality'television.'Do'think'people'still'clump'you'together?! No,!I!don't!think!anybody!clumps!me!with!her!anymore.!It's!weird!how!much!I!don't!feel!connected!to! her!anymore.!She's!pretty!much!a!stranger!at!this!point!and!I!don't!feel!our!careers!are!connected!at!all! —!our!messages!are!so!different;!our!style!is!so!different.! You're'a'big'supporter'of'women'in'politics,'but'do'you'believe'Palin'hurt'your'father's' presidential'campaign?! I!always!say!that!my!father!could!have!had!Jesus!Christ!as!his!running!mate!and!he!wouldn't!have!won.! I!don't!think!she!hurt!it.!I!think!the!damage!she!did!to!her!career!she!did!to!herself.!I!mean,!it's!hard!out! there!and!it's!easy!to!make!mistakes.!And!it's!hard!for!women!—!it's!like!six!times!harder!for!a!woman.! What's'your'advice'to'collegeOaged'students'trying'to'break'into'the'media'industry?! Utilize!social!media!as!much!as!possible!—!blogs,!Twitter,!Facebook,!everything.!It's!not!an!option! anymore!whether!we!like!it!or!not.!Include!some!personal!things,!but!don't!make!it!all!personal.!! Go!for!the!stories!that!somebody!over!35!is!just!not!going!to!know.!Don't!let!anything!be!above!you.!! Some!of!the!best!advice!I!ever!got!from!my!dad!is!every!interview!you!do!is!like!Walter!Cronkite!and! every!speech!you!give!is!Madison!Square!Garden,!you're!Elvis.!I!treat!everything!that!way!and!I!think! it's!helped.!You!can't!have!anything!be!above!you!—!I!think!that's!very!dangerous.! Many'say'Gov.'Chris'Christie'will'be'the'Republican'nominee'in'2016.'You'said'in'September'on' Piers'Morgan'Live:'"I'm'kind'of'done'with'Chris'Christie."'He'went'on'to'call'you'"sophomoric."' How'do'you'respond?! He!totally!hates!me.![His!response]!was!brutal,!brutal,!brutal.!He!may!be!the!next!nominee.!He!scares! me!a!little!just!because!I!don't!think!he!can!bring!it!home,!but!a!lot!of!people!seem!to!think!that!he!can.! I!have!seen!a!lot!of!hype!for!a!lot!of!people!before!and!I!think!peaking!too!early!may!be!an!issue!for! him.!But!trying!to!predict!now!is!like!trying!to!read!tealeaves.!You!have!to!let!it!play!out.! You'did'your'undergrad'at'Columbia'University;'you've'lived'in'New'York'City'for'several'years.' What'do'you'think'about'MayorOElect'Bill'de'Blasio?! He's!way!too!liberal!for!me.!I!don't!even!think!liberal!is!the!right!word!for!him;!I!think!it!goes!beyond! liberal.! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! ! !