Obama had already set the themes of his State of the Union speech with an earlier address given last month in Kansas. Speaking on the 100th anniversary of a speech by one of his presidential predecessors, Teddy Roosevelt in 1911, Obama previewed his emphasis on the economy and jobs, but also on a theme that will be a red line through his campaign this year: fairness for the middle class.

The past year has seen Republican charges leveled at the president for engaging in what is labeled class warfare, meaning his criticism of those with high incomes and his suggestion to levy higher taxes on the rich. Given the reality of serious problems for millions of Americans in a fragile economy, the debate over how to offer them a way out and up will be at the center of this year’s election campaigns.

Fleeting as they may be in an election year, these speeches are evidence and testimony to a long-standing debate in the United States about what the national interests and aspirations are or should be. Obama’s speech is just one more in a long line of such arguments. But at a time and in an atmosphere when it is increasingly difficult to forge common ground within and across political lines, when the citizens’ expectations for institutions of government, the media, and political leaders are at best cautious and at worst skeptical, an effort to capture the essence of the current argument remains important. Because we are in danger of losing the capacity to act collectively to deal with problems that need a combined response, an appeal to remind us of that need remains critical. In the United States, the president’s job is to articulate that appeal, as difficult as it is to implement. Once a year, the president gets the moment to do just that in a joint session of Congress for the State of the Union address. It is at this moment when everyone is supposed to be listening not only on Capitol Hill, but around the country.

The moment only lasts about an hour. But it is a demonstration of what the president’s unique role is or can be about.