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.
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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.
Yes, but you don't really know exactly who they'll appoint. Ultimately, the best predictor of what policies will come from the executive branch is the stated policy platform of the candidate himself, along with his voting record. It's a pretty good bet that whoever he appoints to the cabinet and adviser positions will line up with his overall ideology on the issues.
That being said, it's pretty clear to me that an Obama Presidency wouldn't keep people like Michael Mukasey, Robert Gates, Condi Rice, or Michael Chertoff around. He might keep one or two of the more moderate folks around, or he might not, but as Mark alluded to, he's much less likely to go with the status quo than McCain is simply due to the fact that McCain's policies line up much more closely with Bush's than Obama's.
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