Ah, "mavericks." It takes one to know one--and call one out. After John McCain's address yesterday at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Va., his alma mater, a junior named Katelyn Halldorson raised her hand and, noting the discrepancy between the event's "non-political" billing and the masses of TV cameras trained on the candidate, asked a question that apparently spurred "some seat-shifting and quick glances from assembled graduates and faculty":  "What exactly is your purpose in being here?"

In case you (like, apparently, Halldorson) didn't get the press release, John McCain is in the midst of what he's calling the "Service to America" tour--a week-long, continent-crossing string of speeches set at places where he spent key periods of his life (others include his ancestral home in Meriden, Miss. and the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.) McCain responded to the bold junior with a joke--"I knew I should have cut this thing off"--but quickly pivoted to a broader explanation of his biographical jaunt. "[I'm emphasizing] the values and principles that guided me and I think a lot of this country in the past," he said, in addition to providing "a vision of how I think we need to address the challenges of the future."

But Halldorson had a point. While McCain's remarks were heavy on the "past"--his rambunctious adolescence, his favorite teacher--they were relatively vague in regard to "the challenges of the future." As far as I can tell, McCain's Epispocal speech was his first of the current cycle to focus squarely on education. Yet when the Arizona senator finally pivoted to policy in the final section, he delivered a few perfunctory lines reiterating his support for vouchers and more accountability (among many platitudinous phrases like "what you learn is what you earn") before devoting most of his attention to Troops to Teachers--a joint effort of the Education and Defense Departments that's already in effect. While laudable and worthy of extension, Troops to Teachers hasn't solved our public-education crisis (and isn't going to anytime soon). All in all, "policy" accounted for only about a quarter of McCain's word count.

I bring this up not to bash the senator. But at this point, McCain's overwhelming emphasis on his own character and history--however compelling--is in danger of looking a little hypocritical, especially when you consider it in the context of his criticisms of likely Democratic rival Barack Obama. After sweeping the Potomac Primary in mid-February, McCain was asked by reporters at a press conference Washington, D.C. whether a line in his victory speech--"to encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas...is a platitude"--was a swipe at Obama. McCain said yes. "There's going to come a time when we're going to have to get into specifics," he added. "I have not observed every speech he has given obviously, but they are singularly lacking in specifics."

All it takes, however, is a brief comparison of yesterday's education speech at Episcopal to Obama's Nov. 20, 2007 address on the subject at Central High School in Manchester, N.H. to show that the tables may, in fact, be turned. I know because I was there. For the sake of convenience (and brevity), let's look at one idea that McCain and Obama both support, broadly speaking: merit pay. Anathema to the powerful teachers' unions, it's a dangerous topic for a Democrat (Hillary Clinton, for example, won't touch it). But Obama's remarks were candid and concrete. "Where our teachers and principals go above and beyond the call to make a real difference in our children's lives," he said, "I think it's time we rewarded them for it." He goes on to cite Denver's popular, union-approved ProComp plan as an example of a way to "increase pay that [is] developed with teachers, not imposed on them and not just based on an arbitrary test score," and to introduce his "Career Ladder Initiative," which would offer additional pay for teacher-to-teacher mentoring and "provide resources to try these innovative programs in school districts all across America." In the speech (and on his Web site) Obama offers other benchmarks for bigger paychecks, including teaching in impoverished areas and earning additional degrees.

On the other hand, McCain--who's addressing a friendlier (read: conservative) audience--merely asserts that "we should reward the best [teachers] with merit pay." His Web site doesn't elaborate, choosing instead to emphasize what McCain "believes" (the verb appears seven times on the education page) and not what he'll do (other than "pursue reforms that address the underlying cultural problems in our education system.") There's plenty of chatter about "accountability" and "choice," but no tangible policy proposals.

The "Service to America" tour is, of course, about reintroducing McCain to the American public--and framing him as the candidate of character, tradition and patriotism. Considering McCain's largely honorable history, the strategy is perfectly sound. But it leaves him lagging far behind this cycle's Democratic campaigns, which reached the "specifics stage" earlier than ever before; for months, both the Obama and Clinton Web sites have boasted ten-point plans on the economy, global warming and health care. The McCain camp, for its part, says the Arizona senator will unveil his policy proposals "later in the spring." But until then, McCain can't really call Obama "eloquent but empty" when it comes to "specifics." For now, at least, it's the other way around.