Aaron Shock: 'Rising star,' 'hottest' too

by Mark Silva

The youngest at everything:

Rep. Aaron Shock, the Peoria Republican who became the youngest member of the House of Representatives this year, gets the star treatment today on the Today Show.

President Barack Obama calls him "a very talented young man.''

Schock already has been declared "the hottest freshman,'' and now this:

"He's only 27,'' NBC's Jamie Gangel says, "but don't be fooled by Aaron Shock's age or that he may look a little familiar. He's a rising star in the Republican Party who's been winning elections for a very long time. Aaron Shock is used to being the youngest. At 19, the youngest school board member.''

As young as he is, coverage like this never gets old for a congressman. See the Schock interview above, and the transcript below:

JAMIE GANGEL: Good morning, Ann. He's only 27, but don't be fooled by aaron shock's age or that he may look a little familiar. He's a rising star in the Republican Party who's been winning elections for a very long time. Aaron Shock is used to being the youngest. At 19, the youngest school board member.

REP. AARON SCHOCK: My name is Aaron Shock.

GANGEL: At 23, the youngest member of the Illinois State Legislature.

REP. SCHOCK: All kinds of lies --

GANGEL: And now at 27, the youngest member of Congress.

REP. SCHOCK: The caucus of the 20-year-olds is very lonely. I'm the only one.

GANGEL: How many -- are you the only --

REP. SCHOCK: I'm the only one. The average age this year is 57.

GANGEL: Most of them could be your parents.

REP SCHOCK: Or grandparents.

GANGEL: Competitive. Driven. His early success doesn't surprise his family.

RICHARD SCHOCK: He was involved in student politics and enjoyed leading ever since he was just a young child.

JAN KNAPP: He's real. I mean, nothing's fake about Aaron. He generally cares for people, and I think that's his biggest asset.

GANGEL: Here is Aaron at just 6 years old, a natural from the start. But Chuck says his political career was an accident. He just wanted to graduate early from high school. The school board president said no.

REP. SCHOCK: And I literally went home that day and called the school board secretary and asked what it took to be a school board member, and she said you've got to be 18 and a registered voter. And I said, what else? And she said, that's it. And I said, well, I'm going to be 19. I'm overqualified.

GANGEL: At first, no one gave him a chance. That turned out to be a mistake.

REP. SCHOCK: We knocked on 13,000 houses and got 6,406 people to write my name on the ballot correctly to win that write-in seat.

GANGEL: If she had only just let you graduate early.

REP. SCHOCK: Right.

GANGEL: : And these days, you would never know the poised 27-year-old has only been in Congress for just over a month.

REP. SCHOCK: $800 billion in this bill, less than 8% is going to go for infrastructure.

GANGEL: He's a sought-after guest on news shows --

GANGEL: Has been quoted on the front page of the "The New York Times," and guess who was lobbying for his vote on the economic stimulus package?

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA (clip): He's a very talented young man. I've got great confidence in him.

GANGEL: For the record, the ride on air force one was nice, but it didn't work.

REP. SCHOCK: I urge a no-vote.

GANGEL: And while "Huffington Post" just voted shock "Congress' Hottest Freshman," does this 27-year-old have a life? We're going to get asked, are you available? Are you dating?

REP. SCHOCK: I'm not dating anyone right now.

GANGEL: Are you interested in dating, or are you a workaholic?

REP. SCHOCK: Well, I always tell people, where there's a will, there's a way.

GANGEL: For those interested, you can check him out on facebook, hubbies, travel and adventure.

REP. SCHOCK: I've been sky diving.

GANGEL: Why did you do that?

REP. SCHOCK: Because I wanted the experience. I think it was a blast.

GANGEL: And what did your mother say about this?

REP. SCHOCK: I don't think she knew about it until after i did it.

GANGEL: And what did she say then?

REP SCHOCK: What were you thinking?

GANGEL: That said, when it comes to politics, Shock is more cautious.

REP. SCHOCK: There is definitely the fact that I always have to be guarded with what I'm saying and what I'm doing.

GANGEL: Are you being guarded with me right now?

REP. SCHOCK: Especially when you're being interviewed.

GANGEL: Nevertheless, shock seems to handle it all in stride, including the fact th this political prodigy has a resemblance to a well-known TV prodigy.

REP. SCHOCK: Doogie Howser.

GANGEL: You guys could be separated at birth.

REP. SCHOCK: I could use a double.

GANGEL: All of which leads to the inevitable question, does the youngest member of Congress want to be the youngest you know what? Are you going to run for President?

REP. SCHOCK: That's an awesome responsibility.

GANGEL: That didn't answer the question.

REP. SCHOCK: I have no plans to run for president.

GANGEL: Answered like a veteran. And he already has the wave down, but he'll have to wait until he is 35 to run. That would be 2016. No one would be surprised. By the way, shock won his first office, actually, when he was just 8 years old, third grade. And for those of you overachievers out there, by the time he was in high school, he had earned enough money to have an IRA, invest in 110 acres of farmland, and he graduated college in just two years.