Here is one of the closing paragraphs of John McCain's health care speech today:
The final important principle of reform is to rediscover our sense of personal responsibility. We must personally do everything we can to prevent expensive, chronic diseases. Our rights in this country are protected by our personal sense of responsibility for our own well being. Cases of diabetes are going up, not only in the baby boom generation, but among younger Americans obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure are all on the rise. Parents who don't impart to their children a sense of personal responsibility for their health, nutrition and exercise - vital quality of life information that political correctness has expelled from our schools - have failed their responsibility. Also, parents are responsible for ensuring that their children are covered health insurance if, as is often the case, many options are already available to them.
This compelling argument distinguishes between the party which sometimes asks the people to help themselves ( McCain's) and the party which always asks the government to help some people at a cost to others, whether they like it or not (that other one). It's another plank in the GOP health care consensus. And it's also an argument that McCain, who knows more than most about duty, honor, and sacrifice, is uniquely able to make.