What's at stake: whoever wins the presidency in November will face enormous challenges at home and abroad.

• Author: Smith, Patricia
• Position: ELECTION 2012 - Cover story

When President Obama was elected in 2008, expectations were incredibly high.

It was a moment of national crisis--the country was suffering through the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression and fighting two wars. Obama looked to many like a potential savior. As the first African-American to win the presidency, he seemed to represent a changing of the guard. And his message of "hope and change" resonated with many Americans.

Now President Obama is running for re-election, but he's no longer an upstart promising to shake things up. The economy, while no longer on the brink of disaster, is still on the mend.

In November, Americans will decide whether Obama is the best person to lead the country for the next four years, or whether his Republican challenger, former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney, would do a better job.

With almost 13 million people still unemployed, the sluggish economy is the No. 1 issue for most voters. How Americans feel about the economy--whether it shows real signs of improvement or still looks fragile--may be the deciding factor in the election.

Underlying that issue, and many others, is a key difference between Democrats and Republicans in how they view the role of government.

"Much of this election boils down to one question: Do you believe that government should have a bigger or smaller role in the life you live on a daily basis?" says Bill Rosenberg, a political science professor at Drexel University in Philadelphia.

Stark Differences

The two candidates have starkly different views on this question. President Obama sees government having a key role in stimulating economic growth and as the average American's protector. Romney, on the other hand, views government as a nuisance: Its excessive regulations endanger individual opportunity and the free market, he says. This philosophical divide affects where the candidates stand on many issues (see facing page).

Many Americans are frustrated with everyone in Washington, including the president. For most of the last year, Obama's approval rating has been stuck below 50 percent--dangerous territory for a president seeking re-election.

"You can only run as a national savior once," says E.J. Dionne, a columnist for The Washington Post. "One of the challenges for Obama is trying to re-motivate voters, particularly younger voters, who played such a key role in his election."

In 2008, young voters were crucial to Obama's victory. A recent Wall Street Journal/NBC poll found that just 45 percent of 18- to 34-year-old voters express "high interest" in this year's election. That's down 17 points from four years ago. If less enthusiasm translates to lower turnout among young people, it could have an impact in several swing states (see map, facing page).

The Obama campaign seems to recognize this: It kicked off the president's

re-election campaign in the spring with a tour of college campuses and an appearance on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon.

Conservative Base

Romney has an enthusiasm problem of his own. Many social conservatives and Tea Party members opposed Romney in the Republican primaries. Some Evangelical Christians were uncomfortable with the fact that he's a Mormon. Now he'll have to energize that conservative base without alienating independents, whose...