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President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama head out for their first dance together at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball, honoring U.S. service members and their families, at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center on Monday, January 21.

The president and first lady share a moment during the Commander-in-Chief's Ball on January 21.

Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, Jill Biden, each dance with service members at the Commander-in-Chief's Ball on January 21.

Police take the lead in the inaugural parade January 21 as the first couple walk down a part of Pennsylvania Avenue.

The president and first lady greet crowds as they move along Pennsylvania Avenue on January 21.

Spectators watch as the president and first lady travel along Pennsylvania Avenue on January 21.

President Obama exits his limousine to walk during a portion of the presidential inaugural parade on Monday.

People stand on barricades near the White House while trying to catch a glimpse of the president's parade on January 21.

Sasha, left, and Malia Obama take a photo of themselves during the inaugural parade.

Men in traditional colonial garb perform as President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday.

President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama wave to the crowd as they make their way along the parade route on Monday.

The president walks a stretch of Pennsylvania Avenue on the parade route during the 57th presidential inauguration on January 21.

Members of the inaugural parade walk along Pennsylvania Avenue on Monday.

People watch as President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama are driven past crowds during the Inauguration parade on Monday, in Washington. President Obama was sworn in for a second term office at the U.S. Capitol building.

President Obama waves as the presidential inaugural parade winds through the nation's capital on Monday.

The Obamas walk to the reviewing stand for the inaugural parade January 21.

President Obama shares a moment with House Speaker John Boehner, second from right, as first lady Michelle Obama applauds at the inaugural luncheon in Statuary Hall on Inauguration Day at the U.S. Capitol building on Monday.

U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael J. Linnington, center, joins the Obamas and Bidens to watch a review of the troops on the East Side of the Capitol on January 21.

Obama signs nominations for Sen. John Kerry as secretary of state, White House Chief of Staff Jacob Lew as treasury secretary, former Sen. Chuck Hagel as defense secretary and John Brennan as CIA director after swearing-in ceremonies at the Capitol on January 21.

Senate and House leaders and Vice President Joe Biden applaud the president after he signs a proclamation to commemorate the inauguration on January 21.

Former President Jimmy Carter, left, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, center, and former President Bill Clinton arrive at the Inauguration for President Obama's second term of office on Monday.

Left to right, Donica Perez, Janelle Stewart, Shani Perez, Kinda Romero and Danielle Houston watch the Inauguration on the Jumbotron near the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall.

President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address January 21. A flag-waving crowd was noticeably smaller than those who turned out four years ago, but it still packed the National Mall for blocks.

Obama takes the oath of office January 21. The nation's first African-American president used a pair of Bibles -- one from Abraham Lincoln, the other from the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.

Igor Naumovski is among the flag-waving celebrants on the National Mall during the inauguration ceremony on Monday, in Washington.

First lady Michelle Obama makes her way to watch her husband take the oath of office for a second term in a public ceremony Monday.

People cheer at a television camera on the National Mall before the inauguration ceremony Monday in Washington.

President Barack Obama addresses the audience after taking the oath of office on January 21.

Tourists watch Monday's inauguration from Times Square.

Thousands of people attend the 57th presidential inauguration on January 21 in Washington.

Michelle Obama arrives with daughters Sasha, left, and Malia for the inauguration on January 21.

Obama speaks after taking the oath of office on January 21.

The Brooklyn Tabernacle Choir performs at the inauguration ceremony on January 21.

People gather for the presidential inauguration on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on January 21.

Michelle Obama holds the Bible as her husband takes the oath of office on January 21.

Obama waves during the public ceremonial inauguration on January 21.

Attendees wave flags at the public ceremonial swearing-in ceremony for Obama on January 21.

People watch from the National Mall as Obama is sworn in on January 21.

Obama takes the oath of office on January 21.

Kelly Clarkson performs "My Country 'Tis of Thee" during the presidential inauguration ceremony on January 21.

Obama, center, pauses before walking out the door of the U.S. Capitol to begin swearing-in ceremonies on January 21.

Obama is sworn in by Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama and daughters Malia and Sasha watch on Monday, January 21.

Obama and Vice President Joe Biden had already taken quiet oaths the day before Monday's public ceremony at the U.S. Capitol.

The president and first lady appear exuberant Monday as Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York joins them at the inauguration.

Celebrity couple Jay-Z and Beyonce arrive Monday at the inauguration.

The president greets his daughters Sasha and Malia at the Capitol on Monday.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, former President Bill Clinton and former President Jimmy Carter greet the crowd Monday.

Obama salutes as he arrives Monday at the West Front of the Capitol.

Bonita Volcy and nephew Cullan King, 10, of Texas try to keep warm on the National Mall in Washington on Monday.

The Lee University Festival Choir from Cleveland, Tennessee, performs Monday on the West Front of the U.S. Capitol.

A presidential cutout rises above the crowd gathering Monday near the Capitol.

The U.S. Capitol Police stand guard Monday atop the Capitol.

A place card awaits President Barack Obama for Monday's inaugural luncheon in the Capitol's National Statuary Hall.

Throngs gather Monday for the inauguration.

Crowds await the start of the presidential inauguration Monday on the Capitol's West Front .

Police stand guard along the inauguration parade route Monday.

People gather near the Capitol on the National Mall for Monday's inauguration ceremony.

A woman with an Obama button waits near the Capitol on Monday.

The president and his daughters return to the White House from prayer services at St. John's Episcopal Church on January 21.

President Barack Obama arrives Monday at St. John's Episcopal Church hours before taking part in a ceremonial swearing-in for his second term.

An inaugural attendee yawns while others huddle beneath a blanket Monday at the Capitol.

President Barack Obama takes the oath of office Sunday from U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts as first lady Michelle Obama holds the Bible, with daughters Malia, 14, and Sasha, 11, by their parents' side in the White House Blue Room.

People gather near the U.S. Capitol building on the National Mall for the ceremony on Monday.

Roberts arrives to administer the oath of office to Obama at the White House on Sunday.

Michelle Obama embraces her husband after he took the oath of office January 20. Daughters Malia, left, and Sasha watch from the side.

A stage technician from Maryland Sound International sets up microphones for the presidential inauguration at the West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Sunday.

David Carr poses with one of the Barack Obama doll heads he is selling as Washington prepares on Sunday for Obama's second inauguration.

A chorus rehearses at the U.S. Capitol building on Sunday.

Democratic Sen. Charles Schumer of New York greets people at the Capitol on Sunday.

Christian evangelist Mary Clement of Silver Spring, Maryland, sings and reads from her Bible as she walks along Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House on Sunday.

Obama and Biden lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns at Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington, Virginia, on January 20.

An American flag waves at the U.S. Capitol building on January 20 as Washington prepares for Obama's second inauguration.

Biden takes the oath of office from U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor at the Naval Observatory on Sunday as his wife, Jill Biden, right, looks on.

Workers prepare the parade route in front of the U.S. Capitol building on Sunday.

The Smithsonian's Donald W. Reynolds Center for American Art and Portraiture is decoratively lit for the 2013 Inaugural Youth Ball on Saturday, January 19, in Washington.

The inaugural reviewing stand is under construction in front of the White House on Friday, January 18.

A souvenir salesman displays inauguration memorabilia on sale on Friday.

Workers prepare the U.S. Capitol for the swearing-in ceremony on Friday.

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Washington (CNN) -- The first day of business of President Barack Obama's second term began with a prayer service Tuesday, but it will take more than spiritual guidance to change the divisive culture of Washington politics.

Conservative critics of the president wasted no time ripping into an inaugural address laden with progressive themes such as climate change, gun control, gay rights and immigration reform.

More specifically, they targeted the president's vigorous defense of costly but popular entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid.

"One thing that is pretty clear from the president's speech yesterday -- the era of liberalism is back," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Kentucky. "An unabashedly, far left-of-center inauguration speech certainly brings back memories of the Democratic Party of ages past."

If Obama "pursues that kind of agenda, obviously it is not designed to bring us together and certainly not designed to deal with the transcendent issue of our era, which is deficit and debt. Until we fix that problem, we can't fix America."

Republicans pause on partisanship

Obama's inaugural address "was trying basically to throw a bone to every left-wing activist group he could," said Rep. Dave Schweikert, R-Arizona.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative group that focuses on fiscal policy, labeled Obama's speech "harshly ideological" and akin to "a liberal laundry list."

The group will "be in the vanguard of the effort to oppose the president's big government policies," its president, Tim Phillips, said in a statement Monday.

Was President Obama's address partisan?

How will history judge Obama's speech?

Obama catches Reid taking inaugural pen

In his inaugural address, Obama insisted that programs such as Social Security and Medicare -- long targets of conservatives seeking to cut the size of government -- remain vital to the maintenance of America's safety net for the elderly, poor and disabled.

"We, the people, understand that our country cannot succeed when a shrinking few do very well and a growing many barely make it," Obama declared, adding that tough decisions on how to address the nation's chronic federal deficits and debt must avoid choosing between "caring for the generation that built this country and investing in the generation that will build its future."

While some Republicans sounded less combative, they said they were nevertheless disappointed by the president's inaugural remarks.

Obama "could have found some way to be more constructive," Rep. Peter King, R-New York, told CNN. "I think he should have done more to say there's honest disagreement" instead of characterizing the debate as "the voice of reason on his side" and "shrill cries on the other side."

King acknowledged that some on the right "are never going to agree" with Obama but insisted the president needs to indicate a willingness to compromise with the GOP to make progress on the major issues facing the country.

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Virginia, told CNN on Monday that while "there are plenty of areas of disagreement ... there also are some things fundamentally we agree on, and that is this country is one of opportunity."

Marine Band: Beyonce lip-synched

Differences involve "the way we get there to help everybody," Cantor said, adding that "hopefully, we can bridge those differences."

The Republican response reflected in part a continuing split between conservatives resisting concessions to the president and GOP moderates trying to buff up the party's tarnished reputation in light of a growing public perception of congressional dysfunction.

A House vote set for Wednesday on suspending the federal debt ceiling for three months will provide the first test of GOP resolve.

The measure represents the latest in a series of Republican concessions on spending and debt issues, with House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and his leadership team proposing the debt ceiling increase without any spending cuts they had previously demanded to offset the cost.

In return, they demand that the Democratic-controlled Senate pass a budget for the first time in four years, which would provide a platform for a detailed congressional debate on spending.

Otherwise, the measure calls for legislators to forgo their salaries until they complete a spending plan.

Granderson: Obama's rallying cry

Boehner told House Republicans in a meeting Tuesday afternoon that passing a short-term debt ceiling suspension "buys time for the House and Senate both to pass a budget," according to a GOP source at the gathering.

The source noted that former vice presidential nominee and House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wisconsin, will work with House GOP leaders to draft a budget by an April 15 deadline. The budget would place federal spending on a trajectory to eliminate the deficit within 10 years, a goal shared by the speaker.

"It's time for the Senate to act," Boehner told reporters after the GOP meeting. "You can't continue to spend money you don't have."

Obama, who rejects any negotiations over the debt ceiling, has welcomed the House plan as a step forward because it prevents immediate brinksmanship over whether the government will meet its financial obligations. A political battle over raising the debt ceiling in 2011 contributed to the first-ever downgrade of the U.S. credit rating.

The White House Office of Management and Budget released a statement Tuesday afternoon noting that while "the administration supports a long-term increase in the debt limit that would increase certainty and economic stability, ... the administration would not oppose a short-term solution to the debt limit."

The White House "looks forward to continuing to work with both the House and the Senate to increase certainty and stability for the economy," the statement concluded.

However, some conservative House Republicans oppose Boehner's debt ceiling measure, setting up a possible repeat of previous votes in which the speaker failed to get enough support from his GOP conference to push through a bill.

"I think it's a terrible idea," Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California, told Fox Business Network on Monday, arguing the plan "gives the most spendthrift administration in this country's history literally an open credit card to borrow as much as they can."

Rep. Louie Gohmert, R-Texas, also disagreed with giving up the leverage of the debt ceiling without any guaranteed spending cuts in return.

"At some point, we have got to use the leverage we have to bring this spending down and to actually make the president do what he said in his speech," Gohmert told FBN.

In addition, Gohmert complained that Boehner's plan essentially gives the "millionaires club" in the Senate the power to determine whether he and other House members who need their congressional salaries will get paid.

At the White House, spokesman Jay Carney called the House GOP plan "a welcome thing" and rejected accusations that Obama's address Monday amounted to liberal ideology.

"He focuses on the fact that we are Americans first, and I hardly thing the pursuit of equal rights, pursuit of comprehensive immigration reform, pursuit of sensible policies that deal with climate change and enhance our energy independence are ideological," Carney said Tuesday.

In the Senate, Majority Leader Harry Reid outlined an agenda that closely conformed to the priorities of the president's inaugural address the day before.

"The last Congress was too often characterized by sharp political divides -- divides that hampered efforts to foster success for all Americans," the Nevada Democrat said, telling his colleagues that "it is possible to hold fast to your principles while making the compromises necessary to move our country forward."

At the same time, Reid said Senate Democrats "will stand strong -- strong -- for the standard of balance, and we will remain resolute -- resolute -- in the pursuit of fairness for all Americans, regardless of where they were born or the color of their skin, regardless of the size of their bank accounts, regardless of their religion or their sexual orientation."

McConnell also called for compromise but said it was Democrats who must be willing to meet in the middle.

"Over the past four years, while the president focused on re-election and too many Senate Democrats focused on avoiding tough decisions, the debt grew by more than $6 trillion," McConnell said. "In short, Democrats have put off all the hard stuff until now. And our problems have only gotten worse. But that was the first term."

Saying "a lot of Democrats are afraid of a process that exposes their priorities, particularly on spending and debt," McConnell made clear that Republicans reject any further increases in tax revenue after the fiscal cliff deal at the end of the last Congress that raised rates on top income earners.

"Since the revenue question has been settled," he said, "I'm sure the American people are eager to see what other ideas Democrats might have to bring down our ruinous deficits."

CNN's Dana Bash, Ted Barrett and Deirdre Walsh contributed to this report.