John McCain, the StudMuffin Candidate for President

Sen. StudMuffin wins. At the bottom of a Newsweek story about a media barbeque given by John McCain, Holly Bailey notes the welcome mat at the door of the "master cabin" at McCain's ranch.

Reporters were given surprisingly free rein on the McCain property. As the senator grilled, and his wife Cindy and other aides talked to reporters, members of the press were allowed to roam around, availing themselves of the opportunity to take rides on the tire swing and exploring his house, which features a mat outside the door that says, "Geezer (formerly known as Stud Muffin) Lives Here."

I don't know why Bailey made StudMuffin into two words. Everybody who's anybody knows that "StudMuffin" is just one word. But "StudMuffin" well captures the world of John McCain has made for himself. Cindy McCain fell in love with John McCain the handsome, glib, tough-as-nails, navy guy. But John McCain's not just a stud who is plagued by foul-mouthed bad temper. He also projects a kind of self-deprecating, little boyish vulnerability that also makes people want to protect him. Perhaps because of his prisoner of war experience, perhaps for other reasons, John McCain seems to have an outsized need for warmth, nurturing, protection, and embrace. That's what makes him a "StudMuffin" rather than just a stud.

And Cindy McCain was so happy to nurture McCain that she financed McCain's political career with her family's money. I wouldn't be surprised if McCain's "Hidden Valley Ranch" wasn't purchased with her money as well.

Nothing was too good for her StudMuffin.

Now that McCain's the officially annointed Republican candidate for President, mainstream media figures have come out of the closet about the doe-eyed way they look on McCain as their StudMuffin as well.

McCain is definitely Holly Bailey's StudMuffin. Her prose in her piece on McCain's barbecue is the political version of a romance novel. Here's a fawning little bit:

On Sunday McCain pointed out a black hawk's nest high in one of the old sycamore trees, marveling at the time he watched a mother hawk teach her baby how to fly. "It was one of the most amazing things I've ever seen," he gushed. A few feet away McCain motioned up toward a dead branch frequented by a certain woodpecker and noted that there are 67 different kinds of bird on his property. He motioned toward barren bushes and talked of the roses and spring flowers that will soon bloom. Reporters nodded and scribbled in their notebooks. "What kind of tree did he say that was?" one whispered.

Give McCain credit for not being stupid enough to stick the reporters into a bathroom like Hillary Clinton. But the gush enthusiasm is all Holly Bailey.

Of course, Chris Matthews and NBC are much more in contact with their swooning inner heroine than Bailey. Here's Brian Williams and Matthews competing to see who can sigh more dramatically over McCain as he's being endorsed by disgraced President George Bush.

Brian Williams: You know what I thought was unsaid ---they took their position Chris, we're seeing the replay --- they end up in this spot and the sun is coming is just from the side and there in the shadow is John McCain's buckled, concave shoulder. It's a part of his body the suit doesn't fill out because of his war injuries. Again you wouldn't spot it unless you knew to look for it. He doesn't give the same full chested profile as the president standing next to him. Talk about a warrior...

Chris Matthews: You know, when he was a prisoner all those years, as you know, in isolation from his fellows, I do believe, uhm, and machiavelli had this right --- it's not sentimental, it's factual --- the more you give to something, the more you become committed to it. That's true of marriage and children and everything we've committed to in our lives. He committed to his country over there. He made an investment in America, alone in that cell, when he was being tortured and afraid of being put to death at any moment -- and turning down a chance to come home.

Needless to say, Matthews has been in awe of Republican manliness for a long time. Like Cindy McCain, Matthews is not just admiring McCain's macho, he's nurturing McCain's vulnerabilities and protecting him from Matthews knows is a tough political enironment. Matthews knows that McCain's candidacy is going to need constant stroking from the media if McCain is to have any chance of winning.

Much like Cindy McCain, Matthews is more than willing to help and protect the strong but damaged and vulnerable man he sees in John McCain.

I don't see why Matthews just doesn't call McCain "his little StudMuffin" as well.