Meghan McCain Explains How Her Blog Could Have Saved The GOP

GAH. Am I actually reading Meghan McCain's piece in the Daily Beast, about how her blog was the unused secret weapon in the 2008 Campaign Battle on the Internet? Yes, apparently:

When I first suggested launching a blog chronicling my experience on my father's campaign for president, I was met with confusion and resistance. A few people even asked me what's a blog. Throughout the campaign, I did everything possible to showcase the fun and interesting parts of the campaign. I posted pictures. I wrote posts. I even included a playlist of my favorite songs. But often, I got the sense that people on the campaign thought I was wasting my time.

Yes, Meghan tried. Lord how she tried to INVIGORATE the GOP message online, with her Flickr account, and her daughterly neediness. But you can imagine the confusion and resistance she was met with from people who just sort of thought that affecting a significant shift in the electorate wasn't going to come about by enthusing about INTERNET and IPOD and NEW VAMPIRE WEEKEND MP3s!

"The Republican party isn't exactly Internet savvy," McCain says, "That's no secret. This has been a source of personal frustration for me for a very long time." And while I suspect that by "very long time" she means "the past couple of hours," she's otherwise right. The McCain campaign had the dumb Barackbook parody, a fitful approach to social networks, and an official campaign blog written by Michael Goldfarb (I wonder how Meghan felt about that, by the way). And now, Michael Steele's going to have some "off-the-hook" hip-hop Twitters with only the dopest, most "urban" hashtags, or something. None of those things are, were, or will be the campaign category-killers the GOP needs. But all were considerably more "internet savvy" than McCain Blogette.

Here's the sort of good advice from "Republican online strategist and designer" Rob Kubasko that McCain should be heeding, instead of pretending on the Daily Beast that she's already mastered: "But we have to understand what drives success. In some ways we continue to put the cart before the horse. Technology does not drive success. Message (especially a well crafted one) drives success."

It's just impossible to disassociate the larger concern -- that the GOP needs to sensibly reinvigorate their online strategies -- with Meghan McCain's strong and obvious beef: that her "Blogette" was not shown sufficient respect. "I used to categorize many of the advisors in my father's campaign into one of two groups: those that 'respected' the Internet and those who didn't," she writes. "It was a running line between me and my friends who worked on my site."

Yes. Sounds like the group of people who labored to bring you a bunch of photos of Meghan McCain and occasional iTunes playlists were really onto something.

Comments

[RationalDubSteppa]

Her blog... Meghan is as sh.allo.w as her mom(and her dad for that matter). No one really cares about what she has to say because of the very uninteresting nature of her character. With all of the opportunities she has had she hasn't done a single thing to help others or even hint at a life of service.

[SENATORCALLENBOWE]

IS THIS GOING ANYWHERE?.....

[PatA]

The thought of it is hilarious!

[i5kfun]

Didn't meghan have 2 pros working on her blog?

[RationalDubSteppa]

Probably, like her dad she isn't that smart.

[mitsie]

Jason, maybe Megan is getting attention so she can run for President. Can you imagine another McCain/Palin ticket. LOL

[turk96]

Other than the chubby chaser fetishists, who cares what this morally bankrupt tween has to say? She's already stated that she will support the next GOP candidate no matter their views, so we already know she's on the repug kool-aid. Her 15 minutes were up a long time ago. Move along...

[zull2]

Hey, I kind of like following what she has to say. I always get this feeling that being immersed into the scumminess of Republican Presidential politics, seeing her pop firsthand flagrantly break standards he'd brainwashed her into believing about him, that she is just about to completely lose it. She seems to be smart enough to know that Sarah Palin and Michael Steele are complete frauds, and she also can see all these Republicans pretending to seriously pay both of them respect while cracking up behind their backs. You get the feeling with Meghan that she'll either give in and become one of them, or she'll transform into a leftie, ala Ron Reagan, etc.

[NTexasHillbilly]

I agree with you. I am a flaming liberal but like to attempt some semblance of objectivity. I'm watching Rachel's interview with Ms, McCain right now and enjoying it.

[Batjack]

I have yet to realize how any thinking person could possibly vote Republican, (unless you are rich, of course). I am still amazed that McCain recieved over 40 millioin votes. There are not that many rich people in this country, so why would the working poor and middle class vote for the people. Ms. McCain has no clue as to how normal people live. Has she ever had to choose which bill to pay this month or how to stretch the last packet of Top Ramen? These people have no clue what it means to live paycheck to paycheck and still not make it. Finally this country has waken up from its long Repugnant nightmare, but the threat is still there. Luckily they have no clue as to why they lost, but they will find ways to repackage their ignorance and hate. We should always be ready to deal with the Meghans of the Greedy Old Party. They will not give up and they will be back!

[Dustee]

I agree with you. They don't realize that the country is on to them and their *same* tired reasons for anybody to vote for them.

I wonder if Meghan knows how many houses that her father owns since he doesn't?

[BillMelater]

"Yes. Sounds like the group of people who labored to bring you a bunch of photos of Meghan McCain and occasional iTunes playlists were really onto something."

Would that have been crack?

[Ali Al-Sinjari]

Read this info here. Will shed some light on the company our current administration keeps.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=29217 Interesting article that connects to Khalid Al-Mansour.

[liarsclub75]

The whole "hate people who are not white and christian" is just not catching on dears....

[themoviepi1984]

ha, what a joke the Rethugs have NO chance for future generations! you can't have a voice when you don't have a SOUL! it's silly how they try to cover up their real agenda with BS. those days are done like the rethuglicans they are dying breed.

[mitsie]

Now if we had term limits alot of these older politicans would be out of there and perhaps more young people would run. This is the only way the GOP will ever be marketable.

[Manhattanite]

Who cares about Meghan McCain?

She is the daughter of an angry, old, unhinged, and defeated, presidential candidate.

[krocklin]

And she is such an independent voice that she has said she would support Palin if she were the Republican nominee for president in 2012.
Now that takes brains.

[jcollell]

Didn't Meghan say that she was not impressed with Sarah Palin? So she would support a candidate that by her own admission was lackluster? Sounds like a Republican.

http://www.youspar.com/

[plzchuteme]

The Republicans could encourage, endorse, and establish 1000 blogs, but if the message stays the same, continues to offer no more than lip service to the concerns and desires of tens of millions of Americans, and promote stubborn intolerance, they will continue to fail. The "internet" posesses no magic in and of itself, and is no silver bullet. The "internet" is a tool, and tools cannot build a house by themselves. It's all about the carpenters and the materials. In the case of the internet, it's all about creative providers and content.

If Ms. McCain wants to be taken seriously, she should avoid proclaiming that she will be supporting whoever the Republican nominee is in 2012.(as she did in another interview) As I lifelong Democrat and a dyed-in-the-wool liberal, I can't even proclaim that I will be supporting the Democratic candidate in any election until I know who it will be and what they stand for. That's irresponsible behavior and attitude that should not be taken seriously.