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Happy Blogger Learns Meghan McCain Will Host Show He Never Watches

Posted by JAZZ SHAW, Assistant Editor in Politics.
Aug 21st, 2009 | Comments

In a summer season fraught with bad news and political unrest, there is at least one glimmer of sunshine ready to light up our miserable and tawdry lives. From her twitter account, Meghan McCain has announced that she will be sitting in for Elisabeth Hasselbeck while she is out on maternity leave. And obviously I couldn’t be happier for her.

Of course, this may not have much of a direct impact on my life, but that’s hardly my fault. I’ve never actually seen an episode of The View. I’ve had clips sent to me when they hit on some political hot spot of the day, but on a moment’s notice I couldn’t even tell you what network it’s on nor name all of the various hosts. It’s not that I don’t want to be a regular viewer, of course… who wouldn’t? It’s just that it airs at the same time that the Sci-Fi channel (I’m sorry…. “Syfi” … *sigh* indeed) runs marathons of Stargate Atlantis. And if I don’t keep up on the activities of the evil aliens plotting to take over our planet and report back to you, who will, eh? Who?

But I digress. I’ve never been quite sure what to make of young Meghan. On the one hand, she is starting out early in life, wanting to get involved in the political arena and take part in our ongoing great debate over matters of government. If she uses her name and fame to get more young people involved and they start showing up at the voting booth, then that’s a good thing, no matter what you may think of her opinions. Also, I tend to like her attitude by default, since she is preaching a message of a bigger tent for the GOP, where social conservatives don’t dominate the entire party and a variety of voices should be heard and more inroads could be made with minority voters.

At the same time, she always seems to come off in the media with a sort of air-headed, frivolous quality. Perhaps it’s just her tender age, a result of media editing to make her seem that way, or a combination of both. I couldn’t say for sure, but it’s hard to shake the sensation that she’s not quite as serious about it all as she might be.

Meghan is part of a rather rare and exclusive club composed of daughters of Tier One politicians who get out into the mix. She is joined by Chelsea Clinton (to a much lesser degree) and that obnoxious, loudmouthed Liz Cheney. (Has anyone ever seen Liz show up on a round table discussion and let anyone with an opposing opinion get out more than a dozen words before she interrupts them and cuts off their rebuttals?) You could call them a sort of Sisterhood of the Traveling Yahoos. Chelsea gets something of a pass on this because she only seems to show up on the campaign trail when her mom is on the ballot for something and otherwise keeps to herself.

By default, everyone should be able to get out and speak their mind about their government, so Meghan should be encouraged. Plus, work is hard to find and most of us take it where we can find it. I’m not sure how Ms. McCain’s personal finances look these days, but she’s probably not worried about sleeping in a shelter any time soon, given her mom’s enviably high profile tax bracket. But still, we all like to earn our own way, so if she can ink a book deal or get a guest hosting gig on television, good for her.

Still, I don’t think that will be enough to get me to start tuning in. But be sure to mail me the clips if she says something startling. We probably won’t have long to wait.

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superdestroyer

Everyone knows that Meghan McCAin is going to repeat the talking points given to her by the hip, liberal, cool kids in NYC. She cannot talk about any issue because other than DNC talking points, she does not know anything about any of the issues. Ms. McCAin is the perfect example that the Ivy leagues are filled with the idiot children of the rich.

Don Quijote

Meghan McCain gets schooled on Real Time w/ Bill Maher
Meghan McCain Pwned By Paul Begala

Here is a preview of the intellectual depth she will bring to the View.

superdestroyer

Anyone who believes that better schools will produce more productive Americans who can compete in the world market place just has to look at the idiot children of the rich such as Meghan McCain. Elite private prep school, Columbia University and still incapable of having one original thought, expressing one coherent idea, managing any type of operaiton, or producing anything. Since Meghan McCain along with Kareena Gore, Alexandra Kerry, and Chelsea Clinton demonstrates who pathetic the next generation is. When you listen to individuals such as Meghan McCain, many people realize why the U.S. feels compelled to import all of its knowledge workers. The children of the elite are incapable of being knowledge workers.

StockBoySF

Jazz, I've missed your updates on the evil aliens plotting to take over Earth. I suppose they delete your updates from the internet and use some sort of mind control on you to make you believe that your updates are still published. Just an FYI.

I sort of like Meghan McCain, however like you I don't know what to make of her. Friend, foe or indeterminate alien? (Especially since your passing alien comment got past the alien censors.) :)

Lynnehs

I think you guys are a bit harsh. She's still young yet. Besides, she's smart enough to figure out that the Republican party has to enlarge it's tent or die. The GOP leadership seems to be too stupid to figure that out.

DLS

"She's still young yet."

Yes. Will she or won't she outgrow her naive, hip, PC youth liberalism as the mainstream does, that is the question.

Of more general-thought interest is to what extent her generation will resemble the New Deal and Great Society and Sixties-radical dinosaurs, be it from "rediscovering" [sic] so much liberalism in opposition to the Establishment, and how much it will be due to mental-lightweight negative PC myths (and worse) so often aimed at the Evil Conservatives beginning with Reagan in the 1980s (everything was fine and truly wonderful, and then in 1980 Along Came Reagan [retch], say extremists like Thom Hartmann on radio).

shannonlee

Wow...talk about brutal...why all the hatred?

I don't think Meghan is ready for the national stage yet. I watched the entire Bill Maher episode when it aired live and he was VERY nice to her. She knew she was way over her head and she was...everyone at the table and watching on tv knew it. He could have ripped her to pieces or let the dems at the table have at her, but didn't.

But lets look at who she is replacing....Hasselbeck. Talk about clueless.

I am glad Meghan wants to get involved. We need more young moderate Reps in the public eye. People like Meghan help fight the impression that all Reps are nothing but brain dead dittoheads that listen to every word out of Rush's mouth.

DLS

"The Republican party has to enlarge [its] tent or die. The GOP leadership seems to be too stupid to figure that out."

Untrue. They know it and try outreach. They often fail -- so many Dem special interest groups among the Dem electorate love having their votes bought, which normally (and at least nominally) the GOP is opposed to doing. You aren't going to get people enjoying government largesse, assistance of all kinds, and other gummint goodies from one major party to switch to the other party in large numbers, easily or substantially, especially when these people are conditioned by their current party and its auxiliaries (that includes the media) that the other party is evil, oppressive, exclusionary, and (a myth) continues a history (hyped and exaggerated wildly) of exclusion and discrimination against members of these Dem groups.

Even if the GOP has its populist-mainstream elements overpower the "business whore" segment that is often in charge in the party, and seeks long-sought-by-the-public immigration controls, it becomes the perfect fuel for more attacks on the GOP as exclusionary and "racist" [sic] and "far right" [sic]. (This, from the party and media supporting amnesty for illegal immigrants and offering them more government goodies....) For years and years, the GOP already has tried to appeal to Hispanics (who, like the Anglo and rest of the US mainstream, is both socially liberal as far as civil rights are concerned, but socially conservative in rejecting extremist left politics, personal misconduct, et cetera), and typically Hispanics continue to vote 2/3 Democrat.

In addition to deception by the Dems and the media about the Republicans (and post-1980 conservative politics), there's tradition to consider. Even if today's GOP isn't like 1965's or 1935's GOP, those who faced discrimination in society and by the GOP, presumably, at that time are set in their ways and they have passed on their traditions to subsequent generations. (This is aside from naivete in youth and lack of maturity that explains so much liberalism among the young, anyway.) Though today's world is so much different, black Americans still typically vote 90%+ Democratic, and Jewish Americans are heavily Democratic as well, for example. Inertia tends to leave many people continuing to feel that the GOP is a "thin mainstream" "closed club" (it makes a good myth in the media and in the rest of liberal society, at least) mainly appealing to white, male, and more-affluent Americans.

DLS

"Wow...talk about brutal...why all the hatred?"

Hatred of Reagan as well as George W. Bush is alive and well on far left talk radio, which rose to life a few years ago and is currently alive and well. It's pathological, but really isn't surprising, given the source.

As far as Meghan McCain's childish "Republicanism" (which also should be evaulated as a childish Gen X-etc. version of conservatism), it truly merits the term I use for those who misappropriate "moderate" or "reasonable" when describing the kind of overgrown-and-overreaching-Washington-is-never-to-be-questioned Republican Party that's a rewarmed, contemporary kind of "me, too" Rockefeller Republican collaborationism: It's a _comic_book_ "tamed" and "thin" version of Democratic and _liberal_ politics.

Don't hijack and misdirect the Republican Party to make it be Dems Ultra Lite when you should be Dems.

DLS

"Bill Maher"

Side note: Maher often is an idiot and offensive to mainstream Americans, but once in a while he provides a gem piece of humor. For anyone who tires of the worst kinds of sports fans (don't forget that sports talk radio makes Limbaugh -- if not Hannity -- and some far left talk shows actually a relief as well as mentally superior), his recent joke in the past few months was outstanding:

[Loud sports fans wearing favorite players' usually quarterbacks' football jerseys, et cetera]

"Wearing _another_man's_shirt_ is _not_ macho."

shannonlee

"Don't hijack and misdirect the Republican Party to make it be Dems Ultra Lite when you should be Dems."

That is a very tiny tent you're standing under.

DLS

It's a tiny tent to those who are blind or have other problems, but that's not my pathetic problem.

Meanwhile, in the real world, competent people are well aware of the large number of people who have opposed the GOP's straying from being a party of leaner, smaller government (especially in Washington) that re-engages in fiscal prudence and constraint (especially in Washington). This lesson in particular was taught in 2006 as well as in 2008 in earnest, even if the incompetent within and outside the GOP fail to understand the long-standing obvious facts here. Even being the lesser of two evils itself fails to suffice for the GOP's shortcomings; being merely the dysfunctional "party of default," with a recent history of misbehaving in ways just like the Democrats, has demonstrably (to the competent) proven insufficient.

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