Former 2008 Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain's daughter, Meghan McCain, talked to students about fitting into the political spectrum and the evolution of politics.
She spoke at 7 p.m. Monday in Pruis Hall. Building Better Communities, College Republicans, The Excellence in Leadership Program, Spectrum and The Office of Student Life sponsored her speech.
McCain said Americans' differences are what make the country great. She said politics can bring out the best, as well as the worst, in people.
"Politics don't have to be dirty," she said.
McCain addressed how she used to be registered as an Independent, voted for 2004 Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry and has been targeted over the years.
"People would say ‘She's a McCain, she must be [a Republican]," she said.
McCain said now she is often targeted by fellow members of her political party because she considers herself a "progressive Republican." She said she came up with the term herself and knows she's not the only one out there.
McCain said people have questioned whether she was "Republican enough" because some people don't like how she doesn't have all the same ideals that traditional Republicans support.
"There are people who love the Republican party, but ideals are falling," she said.
McCain said politics are evolving and younger generations need to speak up about what they think.
"We shouldn't let pundits two or three times our age speak for us," she said. "Let's pick up where others have left off."
The majority of McCain's visit was a question-and-answer portion. One student asked her about how political tolerance could be achieved.
McCain said the young generation has potential for a high level of tolerance and is more likely to meet in the middle on issues than older generations.
"When you mold [to] an image, you become a stereotype," she said.
Freshman telecommunications major Tristen Comegys said she was impressed by the speech because McCain was outspoken about not being a typical Republican.
"For me, it was pretty inspiring because I'm a Republican who is a female and a lesbian," she said. "[McCain] is not afraid of what she believes in, and that gives me a sense of hope for the future."
Amanda Delmage, a junior physical education and health major, said she considers herself an Independent and was curious about what McCain had to say.
"I think she was interesting and inspiring because she is such a young person and she's very passionate about her feelings," she said. "I went to see Howard Dean [when he spoke at Ball State], and I figured it would be neat to see the other side of the [political] spectrum."
Not everyone was as impressed by McCain, though.
"I was disappointed she didn't talk about connecting the next generation with politics because that's what the speech was called," junior psychology major J. Bryant said. "She didn't cover any of that."
He said he thought the delivery of her speech was disappointing and she dodged a lot of the questions from the Q&A portion.
"She had like the Tyra Banks reflex, where she brought everything back about herself," he said.
He also said he felt excluded as an Independent by her speech.
"I felt [her speech] was ‘How to be a good Republican 101," Bryant said. "I was looking to her to relate to me as a young person, to talk about politics."
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