John McCain gave a speech at Annapolis on Wednesday centered on service and patriotism. (A web ad contains much of the same text.) I can’t help thinking it was a sharp criticism of a common contemporary attitude (and one assumed by Michelle Obama), an attitude of self-indulgent indifference to America’s achievements:

[C]ynicism about our country, government, social and religious institutions seems not a reaction to occasions when they have been let down by these institutions, but because the ease which wealth and opportunity have given their lives led them to the mistaken conclusion that America, and the liberties its system of government is intended to protect, just aren’t important to the quality of their lives . . .

All lives are a struggle against selfishness. All my life I’ve stood a little apart from institutions that I had willingly joined. It just felt natural to me. But if my life had shared no common purpose, it would not have amounted to much more than eccentric. There is no honor or happiness in just being strong enough to be left alone. As one of my potential opponents often observes, I’ve spent fifty years in the service of this country and its ideals. I have made many mistakes, and I have my share of regrets. But I’ve never lived a day, in good times or bad, that I wasn’t grateful for the privilege. That’s the benefit of service to a country that is an idea and a cause, a righteous idea and cause. America and her ideals helped spare me the worst consequences of the deficiencies in my character. And I cannot forget it.When I was a young man, I thought glory was the highest attainment, and all glory was self-glory. My parents had tried to teach me otherwise, as did the Naval Academy. But I didn’t understand the lesson until later in life, when I confronted challenges I never expected to face.

McCain’s speech points beyond individual heroism, beyond what he calls “self-glory.” It’s hard not to see this as being aimed, at least in part, at Barack Obama. Obama, who has cast himself as a great bridger of divides, a unifier, has crafted a campaign which is all about him. He’s elevated himself and his cause to near messianic proportions and indicted an entire political system. So he risks appearing not just arrogant, but ungrateful and ignorant about his country’s strengths and accomplishments. For those who have not drunk the Kool-Aid in the Left blogosphere, this is slowly becoming clear:

should Obama be the nominee, we’re going to see a GOP assault very similar to what hit Gore and Kerry — Obama thinks he’s better than you ordinary Joes, and he thinks patriotism is for rubes . . .