Adopting a different approach

After eight years of George W. Bush, there is no doubt that America is ready for change. What is in doubt is the extent and direction of that change.

Both main contenders have now expressed their visions, goals and policies with a large dose of vagueness. Hardly surprising. The election is in November, which gives the candidates plenty of time to flesh out their policies in more detail.

John McCain was never going to set the convention on fire like Barack Obama did with the Democrats. Neither was he going to match the rhetoric of his running mate. In many ways McCain is running as the anti-candidate, a maverick from outside the party establishment.

If he is elected he will be the oldest first-term president ever sworn in. McCain's speech to the convention was so uninspiring and flat-toned that it seemed to deliberately make the point that there are those who speak and those who act. Obviously McCain, with his war record and experience in the Senate, is hoping voters make the connection.

The Republican nominee distanced himself from the Bush administration and blamed Republicans in Washington for taking the party and their country off track, saying it was "time for the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan to get back to basics".

This is a sensible approach. If McCain is to have any chance at all of winning the election in November he must separate the Bush years from his campaign but the manner of delivery did not persuade many people that McCain was the right man for the job.

The trouble for the Democrats is that on paper Obama should be streaking ahead in the polls but no matter how inspirational his speeches, McCain still manages to stay within touching distance.