It's important to point out, at least for President, that you're not just just voting for one person. You're voting for the head of the entire executive branch. The President populates all the top offices with political appointees, who then implement the president's policies. Unsurprisingly, most of these appointees are people who tend to share common politics with the president.

For some political appointees, they actually just bump up the top career bureaucrat or get somebody with a clue. In other cases, they pay off political favors. The biggest example of how to do this, both right and wrong, is the head of FEMA. No question about it, Brown didn't do a heck of a job. Clinton appointed somebody for that office with a serious clue. And, now, Bush similarly has a clueful person in the office.

So, for all of this talk about the "issues", when you're voting for president also consider that they really drive the bureaucracy. The question you have to answer, and the question to which you'll never get straight answers from either side, is exactly how they're going to do this. Instead, you're forced to look at weird proxy issues, like whether you think their economic advisors or vice presidential candidates seem to be clueful. Or, you get even further removed and start asking questions like whether you think McCain will keep all of Bush's people around or whether he'll clean house. Needless to say, I doubt you'll find a straight answer on that question.