The Hope for America caught Sen. John McCain’s recent appearance on Jay Leno’s show:

Leno: Who is running the Republican Party? Is it Rush Limbaugh? I mean…

McCain: We have, I’m happy to say, a lot of voices out there: Bobby Jindal, T… Pawlenty, Huntsman, Romney, uh… Charlie Crist. There’s a lot of governors out there who are young and dynamic. Uh… Mitt Romney did a great job and continues to. There’s a lot of good people out there, and I’ve left out somebody’s name and I’m going to hear about it (laughs).

Leno: Right.

Yes, the Senator is hearing about it. Not only did he omit the name of Gov. Mark Sanford of South Carolina from that list of young and dynamic governors, but McCain somehow managed to “forget” the name of the running mate of his own choosing, Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska. I’m sure the three months that she tirelessly campaigned with him and for him are just a blur to Maverick now, but the election was less than six months ago. This was either a thinly-veiled snub of two conservative Republican governors, or the onset of senility. You decide.

The video of this exchange is here.

Meanwhile, I have to ask. Am I the only one who sees the drive-by media as perhaps a bit, just maybe, trying to build the perfect beast here? All of a sudden it’s like she’s the sweetheart of Sigma Delta Chi or something.

Politico seems smitten:

Cable news shows want her. More than 18,000 people follow her on Twitter. And now, as The New York Observer reported Thursday, McCain has lined up a six-figure book deal with Hyperion.

While swearing she has no interest in public office, McCain says she hopes to usher in a new era of modernity and moderation for the GOP.

-snip-

In the last month, she’s appeared on Larry King, Rachel Maddow and Roland Martin. In her latest sit-down with King, on March 24, McCain made headlines by confirming her “support” for President Barack Obama.

In a feature story on Ms. McCain last year, GQ gushed:

Charming and self-deprecating, McCain Blogette often makes Meghan’s 71-year-old father seem less old, which is surely one of the reasons it exists, even if Meghan occasionally does something like refer to Barack Obama as “sexy,” which she did right before the New Hampshire primary.

Today Meghan doesn’t back off that observation at all. “He’s a rock star,” she says of the Illinois senator. “Everybody flipped out, but I think universally women find him attractive. Whatever.”

Just yesterday in her blog on The Daily Beast, she advised the Republican Party to “go gay,” and the nutroots left has gone all… well, nutty over her. There’s a silver lining to their crush on the McCain kid, however. Thanks to Megahn McCain, the leftist bloggers can catch a deep collective breath, take a break from spitting their venom at the Palin clan, and say something positive about someone other than the Obamas (On half-brother Samson Obama, they are understandably silent, preferring to just vote “present”).

So what are they promoting Megahn McCain to? Will she be the next generation of a new American political dynasty, a change agent to save the GOP from the evill wingnuts or just another gossip page rock star?

Of course, the usual suspects will spin this as just another vast rightwing conspiracy theory. Sorry, I have never questioned the president’s citizenship, nor have I ever claimed that Howard Dean is the love child of Jimmy Carter and Helen Thomas. I do confess to being open to the notion that Dennis Kucinch is the congressman from the planet Gufi Prime, but I also have a lot of company on that one.

Spin cycle:

Know then that it is the year 2009. The FreeMan Universe is ruled by the Padishah Pundit, Shazzam IV. In this time, the most precious substance in the universe is the spin. The spin extends political careers, the spin expands voter bases, the spin is vital to air time. The Talking Guild and its navigators, who the spin has mutated over 200 years, use the spin, which gives them the ability to fold speech. Oh, yes. I forgot to tell you. The spin exists on only one planet in the entire universe. A blue, lush planet with vast forests. Hidden away underneath the rocks of these forests are a people known as the Omen, who have long held a prophecy that a man would come, a messiah, who would lead them to true utopia. The planet is Dukakis, also known as Gune.

Gildmaster MahaRushdie: “We foresee a slight problem within House McCain. Megahn, Megahn McCain.”

Padishah Emperor Shazzam IV: “You mean of course Senator McCain, her father?”

Gildmaster MahaRushdie: “I mean Megahn McCain. We want her kitched. I did not say this. I am not here.”

Padishah Emperor Shazzam IV: “I understand.”

Muad’Dweeb: “Father, the sleeper has awakened!”

- JP