Nobody can be in any doubt where President Barack Obama stands on the reality of the day.

Obama moments before oath, Jan 20, 2008 (Associated Press)

Right from the very beginning of his inaugural speech he made it clear he was not going to slide over problems, paint rosy scenarios of the future or offer simple solutions.

In the fifth line of the address he said: "Every so often the oath is taken amidst gathering clouds and raging storms.

"At these moments, America has carried on not simply because of the skill or vision of those in high office, but because 'we the people' have remained faithful to the ideals of our forebears and true to our founding documents.

So it has been. So it must be with this generation of Americans."

So it has been and so it must be, the biblical phrasing raises the question: is this generation of Americans up to Obama's challenge.

Crowds gather early on the National Mall for the swearing-in ceremony for President-elect Barack Obama in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)

Lining up the problems

The new president fired off the problems of the United States with the staccato blur of a machine gun.

"Our economy is badly weakened, a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part of some."

"Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet."

There were many more references to today's problems and, with them, always the warning that nothing would be resolved overnight.

He also called for the kind of sacrifice that other generations have had to make.

"For us, they packed up their few worldly possessions and travelled across oceans in search of a new life.

"For us, they toiled in sweatshops and settled the West; endured the lash of the whip, and plowed the hard earth.

"For us, they fought and died, in places like Concord and Gettysburg; Normandy and Khe Sanh (in Vietnam).

"Time and again these men and women struggled and sacrificed and worked till their hands were raw so that we might live a better life."

Where was the applause?

This is a message Obama has been employing for weeks, but now it coming with the full force of the presidency behind it.

But even with that in mind, it should be pointed out that while the crowd of a million plus were rapt in their attention as Obama spoke, the paragraphs of sacrifice did not receive loud applause.

Is that important? It is hard to say. This was not an address designed for cheerleading.

In it were the important code words that indicated some campaign promises would be kept and kept quickly.

"We will begin to responsibly leave Iraq to its people, and forge a hard-earned peace in Afghanistan." No confusion there where America's military might would be reallocated.

Nor did he seek to downplay, as some thought he might, some of the other big objectives from his campaign book. "We will work tirelessly to lessen the nuclear threat. And roll back the spectre of a warming planet."

To the country's enemies, "We seek a new way forward, based on mutual interest and mutual respect. To those leaders around the globe who seek to sow conflict, or blame their society's ills on the West, know that your people will judge you on what you can build, not on what you destroy.

"To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench a fist."

However, Obama's call for bipartisanship in Washington broke down even before the speech was delivered.

Partisan sniping

The White House was hoping to announce in more detail Wednesday afternoon its plans for Iraq, and Afghanistan. Top generals were to meet with the president and the National Security Council to be given new orders in both these theatres.

That, though, may be shelved since a single Republican is holding up Hillary Clinton's confirmation as secretary of state. Clinton will be a key member of the National Security Council and the president wants her there when key decisions such as these are announced.

But unless the Republican side can convince Texas Senator John Cornyn to drop his intended investigation of former president Bill Clinton's charity organization — which the party may be able to do — a bunch of important announcements have been left hanging.

Among them, Obama's intention to name former Senate majority leader George Mitchell as special envoy to the Middle East; and an announcement that Gen. David Petraeus has found new ways to supply U.S. troops in Afghanistan, thereby lessening the dependence on Pakistan and the Islamic militants that have feasted off its undefended territories.

Ask not

As I write this, there are voices on television bemoaning what they describe as the lack of a sentence that will resonate through the years ahead, a line such as Kennedy and Roosevelt delivered in the past.

That may be true, but it ignores the totality of the speech.

The new president couldn't have been more direct about the country's condition and he seems to have convinced most who heard him that he is prepared to get to these problems immediately.

One can picture President Obama after he has saluted the last troops that pass his White House stand, racing off to the Oval office for staff meetings and the like. He has the air of a president in his stride.

But the question asked at the beginning of this column will still need to be answered: will an America, worn out by years of war and now economic ruin, rise to the kind of sacrifices he is asking of it?