Movie Star McCain

Over the weekend, the Drudge Report blasted,"RAUNCH FEST: Film role casts doubt on McCain judgment."

He linked to a Susan Estrich column that criticized John McCain's cameo appearance in the new R-rated film, Wedding Crashers.

She wrote:

It was John McCain - the senator, not the character - who held hearings prior to the 2000 elections, as everyone is now pointing out, to take Hollywood to task for making R-rated movies and marketing them to teenagers. The result was a commitment by the industry to enforce more strictly the R restriction - with the unintended consequence, some would argue, that PG-13 movies got to be more sexual and more violent. This movie was conceived of as R-rated from the get-go, and McCain apparently is the only elected official to join the cast.

...Will the right laugh off the senator's latest cameo as just that? Or will they ask what he was thinking when, having campaigned against R-rated films marketed to kids, he agreed to appear in one.

In the end, what may be at issue is not whether conservatives share McCain's sense of humor but whether they come to question his judgment.

Tonight, John McCain was a guest on NBC's Tonight Show, hawking Wedding Crashers. He has been on the show so often that I wouldn't assume promotion for the movie was the sole purpose of his appearance, but it was part of it. The interview began with a discussion of McCain's role.

Leno brought up the Drudge reference and the criticism McCain has received for being in an R-rated movie. Alluding to Drudge's headline, McCain responded to his critics, saying that in Washington, he works with boobs every day.

Then, they showed a clip from the film. McCain and James Carville were going through a receiving line at a wedding. It was very brief. I'm not sure if that was his entire stint in the film. If so, his part certainly wasn't family unfriendly.

Some other points of interest:

--McCain and his wife's home is being highlighted in Architectural Digest. He said he likes to buy rugs when he's on his world travels.

--He said he really admires Sandra Day O'Connor. His pick for the Court would be Fred Thompson.

--McCain said he wants to be president, but he'll wait until after 2006 to decide if he will run. He'll run only if he thinks he can win.

--He said he believes Kerry wants to run again.

--McCain thinks Hillary would make a great Secretary of Defense.

--When Leno asked him for his take on Rove, McCain said that he doesn't have a take and that it's confusing. Talk about avoiding the question and responding with a non-answer! He said he's not sure if Rove will survive the scandal.

--Regarding the London bombings, McCain said the British are "remarkable people. I'm proud they're our friends and allies."

--His strongest remarks were about the Muslim leadership. He said the leaders have to condemn terrorism and they must get more involved with a steadfast, uniform message.

--Finally, McCain talked about the bombing last week in Iraq that killed children while U.S. soldiers were giving them candy. He said of the terrorists, "These are really evil people. We’ve got to beat them."

Usually when an elected official appears on a late night show, he or she does not stick around when the segment is over. McCain did, moving down to take his place on the couch. When the next guest, Gary Busey, came out, McCain was still given a lot of face time. He is drawn to the camera like a magnet.

I guess you could say he has a love-hate relationship with Hollywood. One minute he's chiding the movie industry and the next he's diving head first into it.

Still, I think Susan Estrich is taking McCain's movie debut in the R-rated film far too seriously. I doubt that Wedding Crashers will be an issue if McCain chooses to run in 2008.

That cameo role will be the least of McCain's worries when it comes to winning over the conservative base in a bid for the presidency.