Obama, Romney inspire visions for America

Story highlights

Barack Obama and Mitt Romney's visions generated a passionate discussion

Some readers explained their voting choices; others offered their own visions

Share your vision for America in the comments or post your reaction at CNN iReport

CNN  — 

“When hardship hits, America is at its best. The petty differences that consume us in normal times quickly melt away. There are no Democrats or Republicans during a storm – only fellow Americans.” – President Barack Obama

“The problems we need to overcome now are not bigger than we are. We can defeat them. I am offering real change and a real choice.” – Mitt Romney

In the final days of the presidential campaign, President Barack Obama and Republican challenger Mitt Romney offered their visions for America in op-ed columns on CNN. The candidates shared their optimism about the country’s future and described how their visions had shaped their policies.

You can read both columns on the CNN Opinion page.

The columns sparked a passionate conversation that ran through the weekend. The columns had almost 19,000 comments, and more than 300 iReport users shared their reactions. There was a fair amount of partisan bickering, but some commenters took the opportunity to share what they were voting for in this election instead of focusing on the negative. Others, such as South Carolina college student Byron Thomas and Fubao Wang, a naturalized citizen in Pennsylvania, offered their own visions for America.

We’ve collected a sampling of the conversation in the gallery above. You can share your vision for America in the comments or post your thoughts on CNN iReport.

Compiled by the CNN moderation staff. Some comments edited for length or clarity.