Malia and Sasha: Is Rap Good For You?

Barack Obama told Rolling Stone magazine that while rap music has helped to desegregate America, he worries about some of the lyrics:

"I am troubled sometimes by the misogyny and materialism of a lot of rap lyrics," he said, "but I think the genius of the art form has shifted the culture and helped to desegregate music."

He said hip-hop mogul Russell Simmons and rappers Jay-Z and Ludacris were "great talents and great businessmen."

"It would be nice if I could have my daughters listen to their music without me worrying that they were getting bad images of themselves," he added.

Senator Obama will appear on the cover of the magazine's July 10th issue, and already has their endorsement. Wonder what the oldest First Daughter wannabe left in the race, Sidney McCain, music mogul and general manager of V2 records, thinks of that?

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 Gets Some Frontrunner Perks

Now that her Dad's in the lead, Meghan's pix are definitely showing more glam and glitz. Check out the yummy candy basket, awesome stylists, first class jet plane with leather seats, and personalized, embroidered linen in the five-star hotel room, with a pillow for each member of the family. Or most of them, at least -- where were the ones for the three oldest McCain offspring, Doug, Andy, Sidney? I guess if you're past thirty, it's time to get kicked off the family bed.

Welcome, McCain Hunters!

Sparrowblog's been tracking the First Kid wannabes for months now, so if you're looking for the buzz about the McCain family, click on these labels: Bridget McCain, Meghan McCain, Sidney McCain, and McCain. We're all about the good stuff here -- no dirt, sorry, but feel free to browse around.

Happy Sidney McCain in Toronto

Here's a gorgeous photo of Sidney McCain (the general manager of V2 records) with her Canadian boyfriend Mike D'Abramo, who works for Youthography. They own a 900 square foot condo next to the Italian consulate in Toronto and entertain a lot on their fabulous patio.

McCain's Missing First Daughter

While Meghan and Bridget have been in the limelight this election, Sidney McCain, John McCain's oldest daughter who bears her Dad's middle name, is nowhere on the trail. Last I heard, she was a publicist in the music industry.

Her relationship with Dad is good now, but he was captured as a POW when she was nine months old. She didn't get to see her father again until she was seven years old, according to this feature in the New York Times by Jennifer Steinhauer:

“I didn’t really have a father to miss because I didn’t know what a father was,” said Sidney... “I was very spoiled at the time in the sense of complete strangers would come up and give me things like a P.O.W. bracelet or a stuffed animal.”

She said that when Mr. McCain came home in the spring of 1973, “I remember my dad just squeezing me and not wanting to let me go.”

“It was very overwhelming at the time,” she said.

Also, didja know that Mccain has THREE adopted kids -- not just one? He adopted Doug and Andy Shepp, his two oldest sons, when he married their mother. That's not mentioned in the press much, so I guess you need skin of a different shade and an amazing "we saved her from a horrible fate" story for the media to fuss over your adoption. But isn't the adoption of two small stepsons aged five and three a different kind of rescue story?

All The Candidates' Kids

A full list of First Kid Hopefuls is drifting around in cyberspace; here it is at Yahoo! News. The youngest is Christina Dodd, age 2, the oldest is Doug McCain at 47, and there aren't any candidates with kids in sixth through ninth grades (ages 10-15).

Kids who need babysitters: Christina Dodd, 2, Grace Dodd, 5, Sasha Obama, 5, Malia Obama, 8, Jack Edwards, 9, Emma Claire Edwards, 9, Mark and Jenna Brownback, both 9.

The teenagers: Bridget McCain, 16, Elizabeth Brownback, 17, James McCain, 18, Caroline Giuliani, 18, Andy Brownback, 19, and Ashton Gilmore, 19.

In their 20s: Abby Brownback, 20, Andrew Giuliani, 21, Jack McCain, 21, Meghan McCain, 22, Jay Gilmore, 23, Sam Hunter, 24, Jackie Kucinich, 24, Sarah Huckabee, 24, Craig Romney, 25, Ashley Biden, 25, Cate Edwards, 25, Chelsea Clinton, 27, David Huckabee, 27, Ben Romney, 28.

Guyz in Uniformz: The McCains

Jimmy McCain, 19, joined the Marines after graduating from high school and served in Iraq. His brother Jack, 20, is at the Naval Academy (class of '09). Neither of them needed to sign up -- only a few senators and representatives have children serving in the military.  This photo was taken when Jimmy was in that weird pre-hunk stage middle-school guys go through, but this is what the McCain boys look like now.

Their big sister, Meghan, is graduating from Columbia University this year. She got to intern for Newsweek last summer, lucky thing, and helped write an article about virtual personal trainers and another one about a trendy South Asian jeans-designer (who since then has gotten into big trouble). The youngest McCain daughter, Bridget, is still in high school, and they have three older half-sibs -- Sidney McCain and Doug and Andy Shepp.

First Kid Wannabes

Presenting the Five Hunks of Romney. Sorry, all obviously taken.

But are they cuter than the Wee Edwardettes?

Check out McCain's Mighty Men ... and Women.

Or think about Chelsea, again.

Look out for the two lovelies, aka Obama's Offspring.

More to come ...