Having listened to the speeches at the national party conventions and taken account of the platforms, it is evident that Barack Obama and John McCain would take this nation in quite different directions, at least compared to each other.

Take taxes, for example. Obama says he would repeal the Bush tax cuts for families making more than $250,000, and cut taxes for 95 percent of all working families. He would eliminate the federal income tax for retirees making less than $50,000, and eliminate the capital gains tax for small businesses and start-ups that create high-wage, high-tech jobs.

McCain, by contrast, would make the Bush tax cuts permanent. In addition, he would double the income tax exemption for children from $3,500 to $7,000, cut corporate tax rates and repeal the estate and alternative minimum taxes.

You want change? Consider jobs. For workers in hard-hit industries, McCain would help make up part of the difference in wages between the lost job and a temporary, lower-paid one while the worker receives retraining.

Obama would end tax breaks for companies that ship jobs overseas and provide incentives for companies that keep good jobs in the United States.

Both candidates pledge to create millions of new jobs in the energy sector, where they both promise to launch major efforts toward energy independence. Obama would invest $150 billion in sources of renewable energy, which he says would lead to 5 million new jobs. McCain likewise says that his energy plan will create millions of new jobs. Their major difference is that McCain would emphasize new drilling for oil, including offshore, as part of his plan, while Obama would place less emphasis on oil, arguing that drilling is a stop-gap measure, not a long-term solution.

On the war in Iraq, the nature of change continues to be a defining difference between the candidates. Obama argues for a timetable, withdrawing combat brigades by one or two a month, and complete redeployment within 16 months. McCain opposes any timetable, relying, instead, on the advice of commanders.

Of course, the so-called wedge issues also define the meaning of change abortion, gay marriage, sex education, school vouchers.

Undecided voters must decide for themselves over the next eight weeks which version of change they agree with and believe in, and whether, in fact, either candidate represents genuine change from the status quo of his party. Just because the candidates say they will bring change doesn't make it so. This is politics, after all, not reality.