McCain and Schrute are the dream ticket

John McCain was ridiculed last month after he claimed to be a devoted viewer of the MTV soap opera The Hills. More than a few sceptics suggested that the presumptive Republican presidential nominee could not be serious. Mr. McCain seemed to set himself up again last Wednesday when, in an appearance on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart, he jokingly proposed Dwight Schrute, the sycophantic character on the NBC sitcom The Office, as his running mate.

“That is pandering of the highest degree,” Mr. Stewart quipped. But Mr. McCain’s fondness for The Office seems sincere. The next day he seemed slightly star-struck upon meeting B. J. Novak, a writer and actor on the show, at a gala sponsored by Time magazine. Mr. McCain started rattling off the details of Dinner Party, a recent episode that he apparently enjoyed and remembered.

Mr. McCain explained that he used a Comcast service to record the shows. (An aide reminded him that it is called a digital video recorder.) Mr. Novak said the staff of The Office was very excited by the endorsement. “It really meant a lot to us,” he told Mr. McCain.

Presidential candidates long ago learned the power of pop culture, but this year they seem to be leaning particularly hard on it. In the days leading up to the Indiana and North Carolina primaries, both Democratic candidates appeared on Late Show With David Letterman with duelling Top 10 lists. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s 10 reasons to love America included No. 6, “TiVo,” and Barack Obama’s 10 surprising facts included No. 10, “My first act as president will be to stop the fighting between Lauren and Heidi on The Hills.”

Then there is Mr. McCain, who has appeared on The Daily Show more than any other guest (14 times and counting). At the Time gala, Mr. McCain said he also watched Lost on ABC and The Tudors on Showtime. He didn’t mention The Hills.