Meghan McCain: Vietnam Smiles

Videographer and mccainblogette Shannon Bae captured the highlights of Mrs. McCain's visit to Operation Smile in Vietnam, along with Meghan's commentary:

A Plane With The Name of McCain

Here's a cool campaign perk for Doug, Andy, Sidney, Meghan, Jack, Jimmy, and Bridget: a Boeing 737-400 with their family name logoed on the fuselage (that's plane speak for body).

The new ride has two phones, a fax machine, and power outlets for laptops, which means Meghan can compose blog posts in the air. I'm not sure about internet access, but the Senator's missing the television fix they had on the JetBlue charter they were using until now -- apparently he's a Lost fan and loves the Office.

Photo Source: Mccain Campaign

Meghan's Eye-Opening Trip To Cambodia

Meghan McCain and her mother stopped in Cambodia on their Asia trip (which has been"profoundly affecting," as Meghan says), visiting a school that provides vocational training so that young people can get jobs once they graduate.

One of the many reasons I love mccainblogette is because photographer Heather Brand's front-row candids reveal the mother heart of Cindy McCain. This moment doesn't seem at all staged, for example, and it's gorgeous.

First Dates: Barack, Michelle, John, Cindy

Michelle Robinson was tutoring Barack Obama at Harvard Law School in 1989 when he asked her out. They went to the Art Institute, strolled down Michigan Avenue, and watched Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing."

John and Cindy McCain had a more complicated first meeting, but the short version is that in 1979 at a military reception in Hawaii he talked her into joining him for drinks afterwards at the Royal Hawaiian Hotel.

Strange to think that without those two dates, sparrowblog wouldn't be hosting all you google, live, msn, and yahoo searchers on the hunt for news about Meghan, Jimmy, Jack, Bridget, Sasha, and Malia. And then what would I do with myself?

Cindy McCain: A Mother's BlackBerry

Reporter Holly Bailey of Newsweek tagged along with Cindy McCain and daughter Meghan during their recent trip to Singapore, Vietnam, and Thailand. In her fascinating profile of the Senator's wife, Bailey describes the two times that reporters have seen Mrs. McCain break down on the campaign: 

McCain lost the South Carolina primary after a vicious dirty-tricks campaign, in which his opponents smeared Cindy as a drug addict and spread rumors that Bridget was really McCain's illegitimate child. Cindy cried in full view of reporters...

When Jimmy was in Iraq during the primary season, Cindy, like every mother whose son is at war, lived to hear his voice. She kept her BlackBerry in her hands at all times so she wouldn't miss his call. When she went onstage, she would hand the phone to a campaign aide who would stand with it in her line of sight. "She slept with that BlackBerry in her hand," says Harper. Earlier this year Cindy approached the senator backstage at a campaign event. She was on the brink of tears. "He called," she told McCain. "I missed it."

Bottom line: go ahead and mess with the husband, people, but not with his babies.

Meghan and Mom: Smiles in Vietnam

Meghan McCain's face always seems so happy when she's with her mother. She and the blogettes joined Cindy McCain on a trip to Vietnam to visit a center run by Operation Smile, an international organization that provides surgery for kids born with cleft palates.

The McCains reunited with Phuoc Thi Le, a girl Cindy McCain brought back to Arizona for surgery in 1997 -- five years after Bridget's journey from Bangladesh for the same operation. Le went back to her parents and Vietnam; Bridget, of course, who had been in an orphanage, stayed in Phoenix and became a McCain.

Meghan McCain's Gone Country

Shannon Bae's newest mccainblogette production is set in Nashville, Tennessee, and includes scenes from a cowboy hat shopping trip and a song by John Rich of country music's Big and Rich:

McCain Daughters Party For Dad

After five years of voting as an Independent, Meghan McCain visited the State Capitol Executive Building in Phoenix with her Mom and officially joined the Republican party for Father's Day.

McCain's oldest daughter Sidney, who lives in Toronto and talks to Meghan regularly, also changed her party affiliation, as the New York Times reported:

Sidney, a registered Democrat until recently, has worked in the music business for years, and was the child who challenged Mr. McCain’s authority the most. She continues to debate him on a wide variety of issues.

“Sidney is a character,” Mr. Woods said. “I think she stretched him a lot. When I was hanging around John, his favorite movie was ‘Gigi.’ Sidney has been very involved in the entertainment industry and taken him to the award shows even though her interests have been quite divergent from his. He is very close to her as well.”

By many accounts, Mr. McCain’s daughters were the most resistant to his authority. “I was the boundary pusher,” Sidney said. “In high school I was very rebellious. I needed to look at all sides. At least he would hear me out.”

Meghan's Campaign Perk: Everglades Airboat Tour

As Meghan McCain continues to get a front seat experience, I'm wondering when school gets out for Bridget because I'm hoping we see more of her this summer. And what about Jimmy (and Tess), Jack, Sidney, Andy, and Doug? Or maybe schmoozing and cruising with a Dad who's been in politics for decades doesn't seem exciting to any of Meghan's other sibs. 

Today Meghan (and the blogettes, I think) have left the trail and are about to head out with Cindy McCain, who seems like a great traveling companion. It was hard not to notice that Meghan's bubble and bounce returned as soon as Mom climbed back aboard the Straight Talk Express. Who can blame her? Now that Dad's done SNL and the Ellen Show, wouldn't you want to hang with your Mom and movie stars instead of a bunch of middle-aged strangers listening to the same jokes at yet another finance meeting? 

Meghan McCain's Product Endorsements

If you're a faithful mccainblogette reader, you'll notice that Meghan often mentions or displays her favorite products -- we know she likes Macs, Blackberries, Uggs, Pop Tarts, Diet Doctor Pepper, and Sonic cherry limeade. Now if only Heather Brand would snap Meghan reading one of the First Daughter novels ...

Mom and Bridget McCain on Pet Duty

Cindy McCain has been MIA on the campaign trail lately, not turning up for her usual fun photo ops on daughter Meghan's blog. She's probably home with Bridget, who's finishing out the school year, and reconnecting with the rest of the family:  two Yorkshire terriers, Lucy and Desi, two more dogs, a cat, and several parakeets. Since the family moved from the ranch house to the condo last summer, gone are the guinea pigs, snakes and an iguana that Jack walked around the house on a leash.

Where Were All The Veep Wannabes?

Heather Brand of mccainblogette was the only official photographer allowed inside the gates at the McCain Sedona Memorial Day Bash, but even she couldn't provide us with photos of Mitt Romney, Bobby Jindal, or Charlie Crist (who are all getting the buzz about becoming veep candidates). What she did give us, though, is a great new photo of Bridget McCain, who looks like she at least was having a good time at the barbecue.

Bridget Meets Bobby and Supriya

If Bridget McCain, who's used to crowds without too many other brown faces around, was at the ranch in Sedona this past weekend for the big McCain barbecue, she had a nice surprise. There were two other Americans with South Asian roots there -- Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal and his beautiful wife Supriya. I can just picture Supriya and Bridget chatting in a shady corner, can't you?

Photo Source: Mark V. Genre via Creative Commons

Meghan McCain and the Blog Habit

If you're a blogger, you feel a strange connection with Meghan McCain during this campaign. You figure that, like you, she must check her site stats regularly to see who's visiting from where and for what. You're happy to catch her reading her own posts on-line while snacking (because your keyboard gets Pop Tart jam on it sometimes, too). And you'd bet a pricey meal that she googles the name and URL of her blog every now and then to track down the buzz. Hey, that stuff comes with the territory. Of course, you're probably not blogging in a private jet with leather seats and First Class service, but still ...

Hooray for Bridget McCain!

Meghan McCain shows off photos of her beautiful sister Bridget, aka "Lil' Peanut," in the blogettes' newest video production:

Cindy McCain: Bridget Chose Me; I LOVE Meghan's Blog

In a recent Mother's Day interview with Kathryn Jean Lopez, Mrs. McCain talked about who was really in charge of Bridget's adoption from Bangladesh:

You know, she chose me, I’m convinced. She was only ten weeks old but she captured my heart. As you know, she had a very severe cleft palate and she had a number of other little problems along with another little baby. When I realized, when the nuns prevailed upon me and said: You know these babies need help you could help them, all of a sudden a light bulb kind of went off in my head and it was like: “Yeah you know I can help them.” I’m in a situation where I can get some help for these kids. It was just a matter of really responding to the call and then of course realizing on the flight home that I just couldn’t give her up. I didn’t go there with any intention of adopting or adding to our family in any way, and as luck and God would have it she is our lovely daughter to this day. And even though it was a surprise to my husband, he loves her just the way I do, and she adds such a special dimension to our family.

She also talked about daughter Meghan's blog ("... I read it all the time. I was her biggest supporter and biggest fan when she started it ... It’s wonderful, it really is. She has such a different and unique perspective of the campaign. It’s just through different eyes, and I just love it ...") and her oldest daughter's company on the trail ("... Just the fact that she’s around certainly me makes me feel better. And also her support. We support each other on this. If I have a bad day she’s there, and certainly if she has a bad day I’m there ..."). Meghan recently posted a bundle of photos like this one featuring the close relationship she shares with her Mom.

Meghan McCain Lightens It Up

Looks like daughter Meghan McCain is playing a key de-stressing role in her father's campaign, pulling down Dad's paper and making her parents laugh by putting on a pair of silly glasses. Good thing she's along for the ride -- the McCains (like the Clintons and the Obamas) have already been on the trail for over a year, and they've got SIX MORE MONTHS to go till the November election. A shared family laugh goes a long way when you're exhausted.

Bridget in the Limelight

The youngest daughter of Cindy and John McCain, Bridget, has been busy with homework, volunteer trips to New Orleans, and playing on the volleyball and basketball teams at school in Arizona, but she still finds time to join the family on the campaign trail every now and then. Here's another sweet photo of Bridget and her big sis Meghan, and their Mom's take on the youngest McCain's role: 

When Bridget drops into the campaign, Mrs. McCain goes out of her way to point her out. "I want to make sure everyone knows she's a part of us, too," she said.

The Blogettes are Back!

Gallivanting at the White House Correspondents' Dinner, escaping to a beach in Tampa, listening closely at a Cancer Research Center, feasting on Cuban cuisine in Miami -- Meghan McCain, Shannon Bae, and Heather Brand have returned from a brief break to give us front row seats on the Straight Talk Express once again. Great to have you back, ladies.

Bridget McCain's New Orleans Trip

Bridget McCain visited New Orleans during spring break, and I'll bet a father-daughter email exchange or dinner table conversation inspired Senator McCain. Listen to the passionate promise he made during a visit he made a few weeks after Bridget's return:

McCain said his teenage daughter Bridget had been there with a volunteer youth group a few weeks ago to help in the recovery.

"Never again, never again, will a disaster of this nature be handled in the disgraceful way it was handled," McCain declared, a pledge he repeated over and over during the day.