All The Candidates’ Kids: Meghan McCain

As Access Hollywood’s Maria Menounos continues on the campaign trail, getting to know the personal side of the presidential candidates, what better way to get to know someone then through their kids?

Maria’s latest stop took her to Columbia, South Carolina, where she sat down for a candid talk with John McCain’s spunky, outgoing and strong-willed daughter, Meghan McCain, who is shaking things up herself on the campaign trail.

“Everybody’s path is their own,” Meghan told Maria. “And each child of a candidate has to do it their own way. I understand that a lot of people are really perplexed by my way,” Meghan told Maria. “But it’s my way and I’m proud of it. And I hope that in some small way, I am paving the road for the next rebellious Senator’s daughter that wants to do things her way.”

In the image-obsessed climate of the campaign trail, rarely do you see freethinking behavior like Meghan McCain’s.

“Of all our children, each child is your favorite in different ways, but Meghan is the strongest willed,” Republican presidential candidate Sen. John McCain told Maria.

Inside the McCain tour bus, Maria saw first-hand how the vibrant, articulate and fashionable 23-year-old Meghan brings a breath of fresh air to her father’s campaign.

“How nice has it been having her along?” Maria asked Sen. McCain.

“It’s great. We have a lot of fun together,” the senator said. “We have our ups and downs, we have our moments of tension, but we have good times.”

And while Meghan is used to life as a senator’s daughter, is she ready to be the daughter of the President of the United States?

“How will you handle that role?” Maria asked.

“If I was the first daughter, I would definitely be a public one. I like talking. Come up and talk to me, I love it!” Meghan smiled.

It’s Meghan’s “What You See Is What You Get” attitude that helps set her apart from other candidates’ kids. More liberal than her father, this Columbia University graduate’s overwhelming need to communicate her experiences on the road has manifested itself in the form of a blog – McCainBlogette.com.

The blog offers an intimate look inside Meghan’s life on the campaign trail, illustrated by photos that are more reminiscent of a rock n’ roll tour, than her 71-year-old father’s run for the White House.

But her candor has come with a cost.

Some media outlets have skewered Meghan for incorporating topics like “Makeup Tips” within the environment of serious political issues.

“I don’t understand why women have to be one or the other,” Meghan contends. “I love hair and clothes and fashion – all the girl things. But I also read The New York Times every day.”

“Does that strength come from dad and your mom saying, ‘You know what, we’re okay?’” Maria asked her.

“He was always supporting of me and I think, in a weird way, he kind of likes that I’m a little rebel too because I know he was like that when he was younger,” Meghan said of her father. “I think he secretly likes it.”

While Hillary Clinton’s daughter, Chelsea, lends her presence instead of her voice as public support, Meghan told Maria how Chelsea’s poise is an inspiration to her on the trail.

“She’s been a role model of mine forever, because she’s just so graceful and lovely and seems to never make missteps,” Meghan revealed. “I feel like daily I make missteps. If she wanted, I would take any advice she would give me.”