McCain on Sacrifice

According to the eleventh edition of Merriam Webster's New Collegiate Dictionary, "sacrifice" means giving up of something for the sake of something else. By this definition, sacrifice is almost a sort of purchase.

John McCain talks about sacrifice. In fact, it may be one of his primary values as a politician. His web site claims, "There is no greater nobility than to sacrifice for a great cause (John McCain.com)." There is no question that he means it; the only question is who is going to do it. The sacrifices McCain seems to like best are the ones somebody else makes.

In the war on terror, 18-24-year olds and their parents sacrifice (Federation of American Scientists). McCain pledges to stay in Iraq as long as necessary, and presumably sacrifice as many young adults as necessary, even though the U.S.-backed government of Iraq has asked us repeatedly to leave. Clearly, McCain personally gives up nothing up here; much less clear is the "something else" part of the definition. What do the young men and women killed and maimed in the war on terror gain, or their parents? What does the country gain? As the occupation of Iraq drags on, more and more people begin to see us as a threat to their freedom, and become our enemies. Surely, this is not what we hope to gain by our sacrifice.

McCain's "bold" suggestion of the government buying up subprime mortgages at face value and renegotiating the terms at market value will cost taxpayers. Neither McCain nor the greedy mortgage brokers who put people in homes they could not afford will sacrifice anything. What will the taxpayers who foot the bill gain?