WASHINGTON (CNN) - At 27 years old, Illinois Republican Rep. Aaron Schock is the youngest member of Congress. He's also possessed of washboard abs and has, as of late, become a favorite target of celebrity gossip outlet TMZ. And the daughter of the last Republican presidential candidate thinks he might just be the answer to the GOP's troubles.
Related: TMZ focuses on Illinois Republican
"The first time I ever heard of Congressman Aaron Schock, I was hanging out with some friends during a girls' night in, and one of my friends yelled to me from the other room: 'Meghan, there's a congressman on TMZ,'" Meghan McCain writes Tuesday in her latest blog post for the Daily Beast. "To which I answered: 'Twenty bucks he's a Democrat.' Well, I was wrong."
"...At the end of the day, Congressman Schock is only three years older than me. Which means he can relay a message in ways my father never could," she says.
TMZ is owned by Time Warner, which is also the parent company of CNN.
McCain gives Schock high marks for reaching out to demographic groups that do not traditionally vote Republican, for his calls for greater ideological flexibility, and his decision to avoid negative campaign ads.
Related: Schock on flying with Obama
"As someone who has been personally attacked when I invited political discourse, I firmly believe that talking about our differences - instead of mudslinging - can only bring people closer to the Republican Party and force them to take a second look at their candidates," she writes, referring to recent public spats with conservative commentators Laura Ingraham and Ann Coulter.
McCain says the "congressman-turned-TMZ-hottie" may be the cure for what ails the GOP: "If nothing else, in an Obama-crazed land, he is getting people's attention and putting another fresh face at the center of what it is too often perceived as an old-news, boring party."
Related: Schock voted 'hottest freshman' by HuffPost's readers
From CNN Politics
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If the GOP believes Obama is popular purely because of his youth, they're in for more of the same come next cycle. I'll be quite amused if the Republican party sets to promoting this Schock after having attacked Obama for so long for supposedly being superficial.
Aaron Shock is the typical republican. Very arrogant, self centered and completely supportive of the extreme right republicans.
He won in our district because he had no competition and access to unlimited funds to spend on his campaign.
He is not change, just the old politics as usual.
If he is the typical right wing anti gay, anti choice, bigot, hypocrit republican, it does not matter what he looks like – he will be rejected by the sane majority! Just like the old man with old ideas McCain and his wacky/tacky running mate Sarah were in November.
It might work, remember women voted for Bill Clinton and Barrack Obama because they were good looking.
what hottie, now lets see him actually run against somebody to get elected.
Note to Meghan:
You need something better than star appeal and washboard abs to be an effective politician. You need a message that people want to hear, you need to have good ethics (something that all too many Congresspeople on both sides of the aisle lack!), and you need the intelligence to handle the situations facing our country. Being cute and having a nice body will get you on the cover of People Magazine, but not necessarily on the cover of Time Magazine as Man of the Year!
@KurtC: Yeah, and the right wing radio (WABC) and all it's members are NOT trying to smear any Democrat. Get a clue please.
WHO CARES WHAT MEGHAN MCCAIN THINKS?!!
It's because of ab-admiring air-heads like her that we are stuck with B.O. for president. The only reason CNN is trying so hard to make her a celebrity is because she rips republicans. She has absolutely nothing interesting or even remotely intelligent to say. YOU HAVE TO LET HER GO, CNN!
Mark in Birmingham,
As a woman, I resent your implication that I voted for either President Clinton or President Obama because of their looks! I'm a 58-year old woman who has been voting probably since before you were born, and I've voted my intelligence, which is obviously higher than yours, in every election. I don't vote looks, and I don't party, I vote for what the person running stands for, their intelligence, and their capabilities.
It's little snap judgements like yours that make these blogs so stupid, sometimes! You think it is cute or funny, but it is sexist, politically dumb, and insulting.
You know, if a Republican is a good guy, it's okay for Democrats to say he's a good guy. You don't have to blast him just for being a Republican or lump him in witht he idiots.
"McCain gives Schock high marks for reaching out to demographic groups that do not traditionally vote Republican, for his calls for greater ideological flexibility, and his decision to avoid negative campaign ads."
...greater ideological flexibility? Sorry, but this guy can't be "Mr. Right."
Give me Paris Hilton anytime...instead of Republican "celebrities" like Sarah Palin and Aaron Schock. Seriously. Paris is brainier than the whole GOP.
why not, nothing else is working for them.
Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat???? We're picking leaders according to what good bodies they have? How about finding somebody with a brain, Republicans. You're going to be wandering in the wilderness for a long, long time unless you get a clue!
Lord! He must be the one to get all these Dems agitated and spewing forth their hateful venom. Relax, he's just a kid and isn't old enough to run for Pres. Dems, come back in a few years; seek, target, and shoot your prey with your typical hateful rhetoric at that time. Until then let the kid enjoy his time in the limelight.
he is hot, and a republican, but so is brittany spears, AND she is a lil crazy, he might be too...... just saying
so very very lame
The dems elect a know-nothing celebrity to the presidency, and then criticize republicans for hyping this guy? Give me a break.
Meghan is looking for a young cuite that she can have on her arm and help her enjoy mommy and daddy money. At least she have taste in men that a good thing.
Picking candidates off TMZ?
Are we at the bottom of the barrel yet?
Further proof that the Republicans will be hopelessly lost for some time to come.
just because he has a young face does not make the old and tired ideas of the rush limbaugh party any fresher. he is out of touch with gen. x and y .
Way to go Meghan. You are the Paris Hilton of politics.
Meghan is not a republican. She voted for John Kerry. She was an independent until 2008 when she became a registered republican for her dad.
As far as Congressman Aaron Schock, I heard him on talk radio the other day and he sounded impressive. He is a self made man with conservative values.
Of course, Meghan didn’t mention that. She just saw abs. Ingraham was right.
Good for him. I would need to know more about his policies before supporting him for anything. He is a Republican Rep. and since none of them voted the right way on the stimilus package he starts with one stike against him.
Unfortuinately electing someone based on looks happen at every level of government, in all parties.
But I am glad to see poster for all political spetrum agree than we need BRAINS and not BRAWNS!
There's hope for us yet!