As party conventions begin, a portrait of a changing nation

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David Goldman

CVN State of a Nation

FILE - In this July 9, 2012 file photograph made using a long exposure, traffic moves along Interstate 75 against the downtown skyline in Atlanta. We're heavier in pounds and hotter by degrees than Americans of old. We're starting to snub our noses at distant suburbs after generations of burbs in our blood. Our roads and bridges are kind of a mess. There are many more poor, and that's almost sure to get worse. The average commuter wasted 14 hours stuck in traffic in 1982, 39 hours in 2005 and 34 hours in 2010, says the Texas Transportation Institute. (AP Photo/David Goldman, File)

Rich Schultz

Reed Gusciora, Bonnie Watson Coleman

FILe - In this Feb. 16, 2012, file photo, Assemblyman Reed Gusciora D-Trenton, left, and Assemblywoman Bonnie Watson Coleman D-Mercer, congratulate each other as the bill sponsored by Rep. Gusciora legalizing same-sex marriages, passes and is the final Legislative approval for Marriage Equality at the State House in Trenton, N.J. The 42-33 vote sends the bill to Gov. Chris Christie. The Republican governor who opposes gay marriage had promised "very swift action" if the bill reached his desk. Christie and most Republican lawmakers want gay marriage put to a popular vote. Democrats say gay marriage is a civil right protected by the Constitution and should not be subject to referendum. The country that President Barack Obama and Mitt Romney are vying to lead for the next four years is not quite the same as the one four years ago, not nearly the same as the one further back in time. On May 17, 2004, dozens of same-sex couples in Massachusetts took vows to become “partners for life” as the state became the first to recognize gay marriage despite the opposition of Romney, then governor. It has since become legal as well in Connecticut, Iowa, New Hampshire, Vermont, New York and the District of Columbia. Thirty-one states have passed measures aimed at banning gay marriage. (AP Photo/Rich Schultz)