Today, America moves to the left a bit, hoping the government can shelter it from the uncompromising punishment of a free market correcting itself from years of corner cutting and over-speculation. Today, America brings to a close a 150-year march to equality among all when it pledges its good wishes to President Barack Obama who has enthralled both his supporters and distracters with an ease of presence not since Ronald Reagan.

President Obama gave a very good speech Tuesday as he always does. The crowd of over 1 million speaks to his ability to inspire. But much of his words went over many of the platitudes that were the staple of his campaign. We could have lived without the usual our economy has tanked because of greed. It all sounded great but this line “Starting today, we must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and begin again the work of remaking America,” – misses the point. America is always remaking itself, it’s the political class that is always late to the action.

This begs the question -What does Barack Obama believe in, except himself that he is not George Bush? What does he really want America to aspire to? Where does he want to take this ship of state? These are all questions that still have not been scratched. Reagan knew where he was going and he understood the American spirit.

Benjamin Disraeli said “change is inevitable, change is constant,” and few political campaigns got more successful mileage out of one word that the Obama team. Obama’s speeches and motions focus on vagaries about the goodness of the American people, on the need to stop the partisan bickering and to declare a new “Declaration of Independence.,” “

And the constant channeling of Abraham Lincoln has got to stop. President Obama implies that our current state of affairs mirrors the 1860’s is absurd and almost laughable. Nothing will ever compare to the years of Civil War. There was and is only one Lincoln – that’s why he has that nice marble edifice on the mall.

But back to the President and what does all this mean for the Republican Party? Unlike the Democratic soreheads who emerged from the Battle of Palm Beach, we Republicans are more than likely to give President Obama more time to show his game that the Left did for George W. Bush.

Republicans will support President Obama on the world stage if he is serious about dealing with Iran, Russia’s new missile deployment program, the growing problem of Pakistan and relocating the bad guys from Gitmo. If President Obama does intend to address entitlements, Republicans should jump at the opportunity. Obama’s perspective will change Wednesday when he starts getting the real Intelligence briefings on how many bad guys there are out there.

On the domestic side, Republicans will also be ready to jump in since we have worked wit with a Democratic President on big issues in the past.

Without Sen. Everett Dirksen and Republicans from the Northeast and Midwest the 1964 Civil Rights Act would never have been passed. Republicans worked with Bill Clinton to end welfare and to promote free trade through NAFTA. And we let Clinton’s liberal judges into the federal district court system and Supreme Court.

Republicans are not President Obama’s biggest challenge; it is the Congressional Democrats who are thirsty for new spending, new programs and evening the books after eight years of Bush.

The second installment of the TARP program is a case in point. Republicans do not owe President Obama a free ride on fiscal matters. The second $350 billion check from the TARP program is awash in pork and other payoffs to liberal and union constituencies. There are no safeguards or metrics to track its effectiveness. Obama has promised another $875 billion in stimulus. What this means is anyone’s guess. We are in for a long run for pump priming and feather bedding from the K Street armies who have dutifully switched sides.

Obama’s tax policies, as telegraphed through the campaign and the transition, must be opposed if he is bent on repealing the Bush tax cuts and the reinstating the estate tax. There is precious little investment capital emerging. That will all but dry up if investors cannot reap some of their commitments to capitalizing new companies.

Finally, one hopes we can have strenuous debate and not forget that Barack Obama is our President and deserves our respect. He is not a King and no country should put all its chips in one’s man’s pocket to bet with. But we Republicans paid a price for going overboard against Bill Clinton and the Democrats were crazed in their hatred for Bush, as if the latter was responsible for every malady known to man.

Our country is a remarkable place because we can have this back and forth without worrying about a knock on the door in the night, or show trials or state-run radio. That is the truly remarkable aspect of Inauguration Day, when we turn over the keys to the car and no one gets hurt.

Good luck Mr. President.