Analysis: Is government's role to fix economy?

Obama argued that its workers and entrepreneurs made America's economy great, the envy of the world. But he also noted that government was responsible for the Transcontinental Railroad, the National Academy of Sciences, the first land grant colleges, the G.I. Bill, the nation's highway and air systems, the public school system, research that led to the Internet and the computer chip.

Americans will hear these competing visions of government for the next 14 months before casting a vote that will offer a glimpse into Americans views of the scope of government — a temporary clarity at best as the debate as old as our founding rages on.

EDITOR'S NOTE — Liz Sidoti, the political editor for The Associated Press, has covered national politics for the AP since 2003.