Republicans praise Obama's eloquence while preparing for battle
Some relish Obama's talk of a fresh start but see flashpoint issues like gay rights and gun control
Republicans sat politely and applauded as US President Barack Obama called for unity on Monday in the inaugural address of his second term, but some made no secret his second term would be a "tug of war" between liberals and conservatives.
Republican stalwarts like John McCain and Orrin Hatch - the latter wearing a broad-brimmed cowboy hat - appeared to gamely embrace Obama's call for a return to reasoned political debate rather than Washington's farcical partisan theatre of recent years.
But no sooner had the president stepped off the inauguration platform than his rivals issued blunt reminders of the nature of America's two-party system.
McCain, the senator and 2008 Republican presidential nominee who lost to Obama that year, said he thought the Democrat delivered an "excellent speech", but one lacking outreach to the other side.
"I didn't hear any conciliatory remarks associated with it, but that's his privilege," McCain said.
"This is the eighth one of these I've been to - [in] every one of them there was a portion of the speech where it's time for us Republicans and Democrats to work together."