Article posted: 9/4/2012 6:39 AM

How do voters assess candidates’ 2 visions?

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In a March 12, 2011 file photo, a mass pf protesters attend a rally with the Democratic senators who recently returned to the state, at Capitol Square, in Madison, Wis. Where once Americans who call themselves "Republican" or "Democrat" saw more eye-to-eye on issues such as the environment or government's role in helping the poor, their viewpoints are far more at odds. The largest divide now centers on the scope and role of government.

Associated Press

In a Wednesday. Aug. 1, 2012 file photo, customers stand in line for a Chick-fil-a meal at the chain's restaurant in Wichita, Kan. The crowd was buying meals to show their support for the company that's currently embroiled in a controversy over same-sex marriage. On this and so many other issues this election year, it seems harder to find that middle-ground gray when our debates seem so very black or white.

Associated Press

In a Friday, Aug. 3, 2012 file photo, Carri Jo Anderson holds a bucket of Kuntucky Fried Chicken and a gay pride sign as she joins the protest in front of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Pompano Beach, Fla. Gay rights activists kissed at Chick-fil-A stores across the U.S. on Friday, just days after the company set a sales record when customers flocked to the restaurants to show support for the fast-food chain president's opposition to gay marriage. On this and so many other issues this election year, it seems harder to find that middle-ground gray when our debates seem so very black or white.

Associated Press

About this Article

It's the mantra we will hear endlessly in the coming weeks: Americans face a "stark choice" come November. It is a choice, as President Barack Obama has said repeatedly, "between two fundamentally different visions" for our country. Or as newly anointed Republican nominee Mitt Romney has said from the stump, "President Obama's vision is very different — and deeply flawed."