The two presumptive candidates for the highest office in the land are running campaigns that bear little resemblance to the other.

McCain had a couple of months to get his “straight talk express” on the track and pick up momentum while Obama and Clinton were still at each other’s throats.  It seems that instead of picking up steam… generating a fundraising machine… McCain lounged around the country telling us about his childhood and growing up as a maverick.

Now that the Democrats have finally voted on a presumptive nominee, it seems that McCain may have been wasting his time while waiting for Obama to emerge as the leader of the Democratic Party. 

Four months have passed since John McCain effectively captured the party nomination, and the insiders are getting restless. Top GOP officials, frustrated by what they view as inconsistent messaging, sluggish fundraising and an organization that is too slow to take shape, are growing increasingly uneasy about the direction of the McCain presidential campaign.

Republican strategists, 16 in all, are saying off the record that they are worried.  Of course, second guessing a candidate’s campaign only works if it turns into an “I told you so.”

“It’s not just message or not having just one single meta-theme to compete with Obama,” said a veteran Republican strategist with close ties to McCain’s top advisers. “It’s not just fundraising, which is mediocre. And it’s not even just organization, which is [just] starting or nonexistent in many states.”

“McCain’s campaign seems not to have a game plan. I don’t see a consistent message,” said Ed Rollins, a veteran of Republican presidential campaigns. “As someone who has run campaigns, this campaign is not running smoothly. But none of this matters if they get their act together.”

On the other hand, Barack Obama is still rocking and rolling along.  If there is one thing that some question it is that since he wrapped up the nomination he has moved more to the center.  Many Democrats had hoped for a candidate that like Moses in the days of old would lead the flocks to the Promised Land.  But, for those who have been around long enough to remember more elections that we can count on two hands, we know that those candidates seldom make it to the White House.

His first general election ad stressed his love for country and “heartland” values, and how he has a “deep and abiding faith” in America.

His second ad talks about how he fought for workers’ rights, moved people from welfare to work, wants to end tax breaks for companies that export jobs and will “never forget the dignity that comes from work.”

There is not a word about power. There is not a word about who owns the country. And the ads are clearly not movement ads.

They are not angry, threatening or in your face. They are calming. They are meant to introduce Obama to the nation. This latter goal is very important. Reporters who have been covering his campaign for 18 months know him (or think they do), but most of America does not.

Obama’s campaign theme is “Change We Can Believe In” and for some it is beginning to appear that the only change we are seeing is his move towards the center.  But, it’s a risk Obama is willing to take.  He wants to be President of the United States.  That is his goal. 

So, while McCain is still looking for a campaign theme, especially in light of the “straight talk express” getting derailed from time to time, Obama is talking “Change We Can Believe In” and for many of us, we hope the change isn’t in the candidate.