Whose Vision of Privacy?

When Sen. John McCain was told of the snooping into his passport files, he said in indignant tones, "The United States of America values everyone's privacy ..."

Sen. Arlen Specter, ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, spewed forth that, "I think privacy is a very fundamental matter..."

This got me to thinking about what Principal Deputy Director of National Intelligence, Dr. Donald Kerr, said last year, "Too often, privacy has been equated with anonymity; and it’s an idea that is deeply rooted in American culture."

That's apparently no longer a valid or reasonable idea. "In our interconnected and wireless world, anonymity â€" or the appearance of anonymity â€" is quickly becoming a thing of the past. ... Protecting anonymity isn’t a fight that can be won."

So, do McCain and Specter agree with this definition of privacy or America's deeply rooted traditional value of privacy?