Meghan McCain and Imus Have More in Common Than Simply Loving Senator John McCain

Imus enjoyed chatting with Meghan McCain so much last time she appeared, that he figured round two would be an automatic. While that’s never a safe assumption on this program, it was absolutely the case with Meghan, the author of Dirty, Sexy, Politics.
 
Meghan, who also writes for The Daily Beast, often finds herself in snits with people, and the ubiquitous Ryan Seacrest is no exception. “It’s so ridiculous,” she said of the most recent incident, spurred by her comment to Jay Leno that it was un-presidential for Obama to go on Ryan Seacrest’s radio show on Election Day.
 
“He had a meltdown on Twitter,” she said of Seacrest. Having been raised in a very political family, Meghan, whose father is Senator John McCain, holds the presidency in high regard, and believes going on a show like Seacrest’s belittles the office.
 
As opposed to, say, going on a show like this one, as Senator McCain has for years. “My father never gets more excited than when I come on your show,” Meghan said. “He’s very freaked out that you like me. He was surprised.”
 
For the record, Meghan: it is astonishing when Imus likes anyone.
 
Pressed by The Daily Beast to make Election Day predictions, Meghan came down on the wrong side of almost every race. “If Murkowski wins, I was right on one,” she said, referring to Alaska’s still undecided Senatorial race. “It was pathetic.”
 
She thought Sharron Angle would beat Senator Harry Reid in Nevada, despite once sitting in front of Reid on a train and finding him to be a very pleasant man. “Now I think of him a little differently, because he smiled at me and was very polite,” Meghan said.
 
In California, Meghan thought Meg Whitman would come out on top of the victorious Jerry Brown, “a clown” and “a moron,” in her view.  “I got to know her really well during my father’s campaign,” she said of Whitman, the former CEO of E-Bay. “She’s lovely, she’s smart.”
 
Meghan also really likes Carly Fiorina, who failed to oust Democrat Senator Barbara Boxer from office in California. “I think Republican women, hands down, myself included, are held to such a different standard,” she said. “The media doesn’t know what to do with conservative women.”
 
It’s more than just a double standard, she insisted. “It’s a triple standard,” Meghan said, adding, “It’s turning off young girls from ever wanting to get involved in politics.”
 
Meghan forsees Mitt Romney getting the Republican nomination for President in 2012, though she thinks he needs to be more open about his positions on abortion and gay marriage. Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee is too conservative for her taste, but he annoys Imus for another reason.
 
“When he was running against your dad, and it was clear he wasn’t going to get the nomination, he still wouldn’t get the hell off the stage,” Imus said.
 
A country music fan, Meghan professed her love for Jason Aldean and Miranda Lambert, who, like Gwyneth Paltrow, performed at the Country Music Awards last night. Told that Dagen McDowell hates Gwyneth, Meghan ironically replied, “Those stupid girls that come from privileged families! They should never go on to have careers in any sense!”
 
Laughing, Imus complimented Meghan on her “charming” personality. “It’s like having one of your little grandkids come in,” he said. But then again, at Imus’s age, nearly every guest could be a grandkid.
 
-Julie Kanfer