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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I guess she hasn't heard him talk. Another lame excuse for a future politician .I'm sure he's been bought and paid for already
Proving, once again, that show business and politics are one and the same. Image is everything and that is why democracy does not work.
if you read this congressman's bio, he's actually a smart guy. He graduated from a four year college in two years and he also got started in politics to get his high school to allow him to graduate high school early also. He's smart and he's pretty honest because he's fresh. I hope the politics of washington doesn't corrupt him like it does everyone else.
another really smart republican is Bobby Jindal. He's a Rhodes scholar and was accepted to medical and law school at both Harvard and Yale. he's another young guy who shows that the Republican party needs to change from the old ways.
He has just about the same experience as Obama, but 15 years younger..
@ a f r
I think your comment is right on the mark. Snarly comments do not solve any problems. Rolling up your sleeves, getting a plan, and getting to work do solve problems.
I am happy to see the younger people getting into politics; nature dictates it must happen in order to replenish any organism or organization. I hope that the youthful generation can learn to find commonality in all matters, even while standing up for their principles.
I applaud every young person who decides to enter public service, no matter who their parents are, or what their abs look like, so long as they are there for the good of their constituents and the country.
Kevin, President Obama is far from a know nothing. Law degree from HARVARD on constitutional law, the leader of the HARVARD Law Review is a far cry from stupid. Don't hate the player, hate the game.
Form over substance... that's the Republican way. Hey, it worked for Sarah Palin... up to the point that the rest of the public actually started taking a look at what she does and thinks. The Republicans still like her, though. They don't run all that deep.
I don't think the Republicans need another token. What they need are policies and a vision that actually attract young people. There's too much information out there for them to rely on the old cynical model that all they need is good packaging. Of course, the real problem is that their content has very little chance of gaining widespread support amongst the populace.
Doesn't appeal to me, but hey to each his own. But is he the total package? Brains, smarts, vision, integrity.......etc. Hello?
Wow, the Repubilcan party should be disolved. You Republicans can come up with nothing. Think about that.
If I were a Republican I would start looking at 3rd party Candidates. They may be your last hope.
He is hot, but i could never condone there false beliefs. Too bad!
Could we please stop the Meghan McCain coverage? She is beginning to look and sound a lot like Paris Hilton for politics...She really is not news worthy anymore
Hey, if he's got the ideas to bring the GOP out of the cesspool it's become mired in, then I'm all ears. We need balance in government, and the caricature that the GOP has become cannot provide that balance.
If this story has any news value, shouldn't it be in the "Technology" section? This isn't new: the GOP is constantly re-engineering & re-launching these bland, perfectly detailed androids who are supposedly the future of the party - Quayle, Pawlenty, et al. They're clean & shiny on the outside and seem to work well at first, until their face plates fall off or the pull-strings on their backs get snagged and their pre-recorded stock phrases start coming out of their mouths at random ("Class warfare!" "Tax cut!" "Immigrants!" "Ditto!"). This new guy looks like he could be the new & improved "Romney 2009" model cyborg.
Here we go. It's the looks not the message anymore.
This is not cool at all......come on what is this world coming to ?
google shocks thoughts on nukes and China.... this guy is ignorant, young, and dangerous. Research this.
Is this the same Republican party that bashed Obama for being too inexperienced (aka too young) and recently for working out too much (aka washboard abs)?
Meghan McCain has a point. If the GOP wants to look fresh and relevant, they need someone with charm and something that attracts young voters. And Schock clearly has some brains if he made it this far.
She's not nominating him to the presidency, just as a new face of the Republican party. Calm down.
Keep trotting out the pretty faces with no substance, GOP. You've got a real winner of a party there.
What a joke. The republicans are so desperate now they are going for young attractive guys? You really think the country will vote for this guy? Good luck in 2012 if you do b/c the republicans still have the same old stuff just a different person
The GOP has a substance problem. They have none.They will not get much picking folks on looks alone. Another lesson (Palin) unlearned by the GOP.
another token for the party of NO!!!!!!! steele de man and russ have every thing under control . dont forget palin she making lots of headline in alaska for the GOP. THE PARTY OF NO. people in n.y. get out and vote.
I think it's funny that she was willing to put twenty bucks on the fact that it was a Democract on TMZ (in a derogetory manner) but when it was a Republican, it was ok.
@ martin comments
"this guy is smart he graduated college in 2 years"
and what? what has he done politically? You repubs are always trying to down play the Presidents background, that by the way is a million times better than this boy's he nor Jindal are ready for the big time, have you listen to jindal? He is clueless and so is this boy.