Meghan McCain Twitter Photo Creates Uproar

(twitpic.com)

Meghan McCain, whose profile as a young political commentator has steadily risen in the wake of her father John McCain's loss in the 2008 presidential election, posted a photograph on Twitter of herself yesterday in the midst of what she called, in a tweet, her "'spontaneous' night in" with "my Andy Warhol biography and takeout."

The response to the photo, at left, was apparently not what she had expected.

Just one hour after she posted the picture, a seemingly hurt and angry McCain posted this tweet: "so I took a fun picture not thinking anything about what I was wearing but apparently anything other than a pantsuit I am a slut, this is."

And then this one: "why I have been considering deleting my twitter account, what once was fun now just seems like a vessel for harassment."

And then this: "when I am alone in my apartment, I wear tank tops and sweat pants, I had no idea this makes me a "slut", I can't even tell you how hurt I am." (Here's McCain's twitter page.)

McCain, who writes a column on the Daily Beast Web site and has more than 60,000 twitter followers, quickly took the photo down. But it had already spread far and wide online and generated enough interest to rise, for a brief moment, to the top spot on Google Trends.

She also kept posting about the picture and the response to it.

"ok I am getting the f*** off twitter, promise not to delete my account until I sleep on it, thank you for the nice words supporters," she wrote. And then she offered an apology: "I do want to apologize to anyone that was offended by my twitpic, I have clearly made a huge mistake and am sorry 2 those that are offended."

Twitter users expressed surprise that McCain was taken aback by the response to her photo.

"I find it difficult to believe that she [didn't] expect *some* reaction to that photo," wrote afrobella. Others expressed sympathy for McCain for the criticism she received.

"i really don't understand why people r having a cow over megan mccain's pic," wrote pamela1483. "i think it's fine. whats the problem? that she has boobs?"

On Thursday afternoon, McCain wrote a pair of tweets that, taken together, formed what seemed to be her takeaway from the experience: "I would like to thank my family and friends for their support. This has been an embarrassing experience but also a learning one. I will not…be deleting my twitter account but I will be more careful in the future about my use with the medium."

McCain seems to have learned the same lesson that many young Internet users have taken to heart in recent years: Be careful what you post online.

Update: Meghan McCain Hits Back at Twitter Photo Critics

[leithflood]

MEGHAN, Call your shrink right away, sitting upside down like that, can cause serious health problems. HOLD IT, You may be covered under the Obama health care plan.

[Megapril]

Yeah, please feel free to repost the pic, but in higher def this time... Maybe frome some other angles as well?

[AwareObserver]

What a shame for a young woman to resort to this stuff.

[IAMFREDURNOT]

Wow, how stupid. You can see boobs on almost every page of the Internet. This only happens to conservative women, liberal women are empowered for showing boobs and conservative women are beaten down with hate and labeled *****, or cows or pigs. Just remember slithering horde; remember your choices when the big finger in the sky is pointing at you, remember you created it.

[lg144]

Republicans are repressed closet sex freaks hell bent on keeping women inline by controlling their reproductive health needs. Vote Democratic and put republicans in the unemployment line.

[IAMFREDURNOT]

Can I have the right to murder people too? please, I so want to kill my baby that was conceived while I was high on drugs I bought with my food stamps, cuz they will never amount to anything anyway. Right?

[AOCGUY]

Hot!

[SheaButtah]

Hello Meghan! I love it! Don't walk this back, embrace it! I love it when Republicans let there hair down. We shouldn't be so uptight. It was hot!

[BWB2020]

At least she knows now how Limbaugh's victim felt.

[IAMFREDURNOT]

Yes because we all know that 2 wrongs make a right.

[BeckieBest]

The family values party?

[billie2222]

Like mom and dad. Cheat on your first wife, steal another woman's husband, get involved with Charles Keating, and steal drugs from your own chartiable organization. Meghan got some great moral parents!

[Imadinnerjacket]

Meghan .. you can twitterpate me anytime you want darlin.. ;)

[Fringlish1]

well, that is just crazy--what do you expect posting the "look at my boobs" photo? No way that was not totally planned-and a terribly long way from a "pantsuit"--this attitude of "I can't believe people commented about my photo" makes me totally question her intelligence. I thought she was a bright young girl, but maybe she is just a young girl with big boobs.

[bobnjersey]

[I thought she was a bright young girl, but maybe she is just a young girl with big boobs.]

she's likely a bright young girl with big boobs and an empty bottle of wine on the table.

[SheaButtah]

She is adorable, smart, beautiful young woman... not a problem Meghan...