Meghan McCain had dirty hair when she met Sarah Palin, true story.

What I Read: Dirty Sexy Politics by Meghan McCain

It should surprise exactly none of you that my political beliefs lean pretty far left. I hate calling myself a liberal or a democrat or anything else (just as much as I hate calling people conservatives or republicans) because those labels make politics seem so one-dimensional. All of those names can have such negative connotations, and honestly, who can honestly say all their beliefs lie 100% with one party? Not too many. I avoid them as much as I can. I guess that was kind of a tangent, but the point is that my high school boyfriend calling me a "flaming liberal" one day when I was seventeen and I never looked back.

I've always liked Meghan McCain. Truthfully, I always really liked John McCain until he ran for President. I always thought he was pretty open-minded and willing to work with people on all sides of the political spectrum. (I don't feel this way about him anymore, but that's another post for another day.) Meghan (I'm going to call her that because I think we'd be friends) is totally my kind of republican - she's firm and unapologetic in her beliefs, but is also realistic and honest about the pretty serious changes this country needs to make before we totally fall off the deep end, and understands that those changes are going to come through compromise and collaboration. I know there are plenty of republicans who are normal like this, but with the most popular vocal republicans (like Rush Limbaugh and Michele Bachmann and the Glenn Beck) becoming more and more polarizing every day, it's hard to remember that there are normal ones.

Meghan is as firmly pro-life as she is pro-gay marriage, and I think that's so important. This is how real people are, and it's DEFINITELY how a lot of young people are. People are multifaceted, multi-dimensional people. They're like onions! They have layers!! No one wants a party (political or otherwise) where their beliefs are shot down every time they don't line up with the popular guy's.

This book is essentially a memoir of her time on the 2008 campaign trail with her dad, so I was stoked to read it. The 2008 campaign was the first Presidential election that I voted in, so it will always have a special place in my heart.

She says in the beginning of the book that the book is a truly honest account of what happened on the campaign trail, and I gotta be honest - I believe it. I know there are things that she would never be able to talk about, and I'm not toootally convinced that her parents didn't read the book until it was published, but overall, this was an honest, raw account of what it's like to campaign with arguably the most watched Presidential campaign in history. It's also a pretty eye-opening account of what it's like to be a daughter of a prominent political figure. It's gotta be tough, and I know she's not perfect, but I think she handles the pressure well. I loved reading about the relationship she has with her dad. That's DEFINTELY real, and it reminded me of the relationship that I have with my own dad (minus the millionaire/Senator part, obvz).

Without getting into too much of a political rant, Meghan dropped truth bombs through the whole book, and I loved it. She discusses her pro-life stance, and how she believes that contraception and comprehensive health care go along with that. If you don't want someone to get an abortion, make sure they have ways to protect themselves from pregnancy, right? RIGHT? Why is this so easy for her, and you, and me to understand, and so hard for politicians?

One of the most interesting things that I learned in the book was that Meghan McCain learned who her dad had chosen as a running mate at the same time you and I did - on the news on some random Friday morning. Sarah Palin was obviously a big secret on the campaign... so secret that even John McCain's daughter wasn't in the loop. Crazy, right?! If my parents kept that big of a secret from me, I would die. I'm telling you. Homegirl is a way better person than me. And to fill you in on what the title of this post is all about, she was so upset the whole morning of the announcement that she forgot to even wash her hair. I think that's hilarious. Not that she was so upset, that's just totally something I would do. I would tooootally forget to wash my hair while I was in an emotionally compromised state. (See Megs? I'm telling you, we'd be friends.) It's just such a real moment to read about, and that's what I loved about the whole book. Love her her or hate her, she keeps it real.

Regardless of your political affiliation, I definitely think you should read this book. You'll love it, I'm sure of it. Have any of you read it yet, or her other book? I'm dying to read it next!!!

Check out one of the sweetest (literally! get it?) bloggers I know, Leslie!