Meghan McCain rocks the party boat, but passes the 'purity test'
Within seconds of stepping onto the stage for an interview with Miami's CBS4-TV reporter, Gio Benitez, at the 2010 Miami Book Fair, Meghan McCain gave the audience what they came for--the real McCain, if you will-- as she recalled nearly overdosing on Xanax on the eve of the 2008 election, which her father, U.S. Senator John McCain, the Republican candidate for the office of President of the United States, lost. Shifting gears, Benitez steered McCain quickly into a discussion of the book she had come to the fair to stump for, Dirty, Sexy Politics (Hyperion; August, 2010), when she revealed that Gonzo journalist and renowned drugs, alcohol, and guns lover Hunter S. Thompson was one of her biggest influences and went on to describe her love of freedom, the subject of her latest book, America, You Sexy Bitch (Da Capo Press/Perseus Books; June, 2012), as 'addictive.' When asked about her role in her father's presidential campaign, McCain said she felt like an 'outcast' after being thrown off her father's campaign plane and elaborated on the backstage 'hanky-panky' and in-fighting on the campaign trail. McCain wrapped her interview with unvarnished reflections on Republican 'purity tests' and the Tea Party before taking questions from the audience on the origins of the Dirty, Sexy Politics book title; the nature of her public vs. private family life; her views on the controversial Arizona immigration law; her father's legacy in the wake of selecting Sarah Palin as his 2008 running mate; the media infatuation with Sarah Palin; how her own pro-life, pro-same-sex marriage values fit with the Republican Party's agenda; her relationship with her father and other political figures, such as Senators Joe Lieberman and Lindsey Graham; a comparison of Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin; her own political aspirations, saying she just wanted to 'kick Obama's ass'; her advice on how young Republicans can overcome Republican Party 'purity tests'; and her take on Florida Tea Party politics and how to get out the youth vote.
Book and Author Headlines
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James F. Dunnigan, The Perfect Soldier: Special Operations, Commandos and the Future of Warfare.
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Alice Hoffman meets fans and autographs 'The Dovekeepers'.
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Meghan McCain rocks the party boat, but passes the 'purity test'
