While today's national and worldwide focus was on President Obama, the inaugural ceremony also was marked by excitement, anticipation and bipartisanship among the hundreds of members of Congress who attended.

"It's total joy," said Rep. Donna Edwards, D-Md., who took office last year and said she has attended each inauguration since 1980. "We are hopeful and believe in the possibilities."

"I'm awestruck by the sheer numbers of people. Everybody is happy, hopeful and jubilant," said Rep. Zack Space, D-Ohio. "The bar has been set high in terms of expectations and hope. It will be hard to achieve, but there is a sense that we will all work together."

Rep. Patrick Murphy, D-Pa., recalled that he knocked on doors for Obama during the New Hampshire primary a year ago. "A woman there started crying and told me that her brother was going for his fourth deployment in Iraq, and she didn't want a fifth deployment.... Now we are changing policy in Iraq, and on health care, and on energy." Murphy cautioned not to underestimate the American people: "They know that it will take time and shared sacrifice.... We are ready to roll up our sleeves."

Even Republican lawmakers joined in the moment. "What an incredible day," gushed House Minority Whip Eric Cantor, R-Va. "Now we get down to work," he added. "The challenges before us are so great that Republicans are looking for a way forward to get us out of this situation." Rep. Patrick McHenry, R-N.C. said, "The crowds are jaw-dropping.... It's one day every four years to be an American."

Rep. Michael Castle, R-Del., was cautiously optimistic about prospects for bipartisanship. "I believe that Obama ran to some degree on that principle," Castle said. "I hope it doesn't fall apart early on; hopefully this president can avoid that." Castle added that he thought Republicans were not in a mood to throw down the gauntlet with the new president. "There's not a feeling of, 'He's a Democrat, we're Republicans, you have to oppose him on everything.'" Castle added that Obama is extremely popular with the public right now. "Members are relatively astute [over] when to cooperate," Castle noted.

The feeling extended to former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who also was impressed. "I think most people will see it as historic," he said. The Georgia Republican noted that Obama came from modest means, without a famous name, and the country and Obama could be proud of the fact that he "could rise in one generation and be chosen by the American people to lead."

The cooperative spirit continued at the inaugural lunch in the Capitol's Statuary Hall, where the customary camaraderie played out on a bipartisan basis. Prominently seated at one of the 22 guest tables were Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., and his wife, Cindy. To their sides were the smiling and solicitous White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, plus Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Also at that table were Cantor and newly confirmed Interior Secretary Ken Salazar.

The significance of the first African-American president in the nation's history was another frequent congressional reference point. "This was the moment when the dream... finally reached the walls of the White House," Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., who chaired the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, told the huge audience on the Capitol lawn and the National Mall. At the lunch, she paid tribute to former president Abraham Lincoln and noted the bicentennial of his birth this year.

Former presidents Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton attended the lunch. Escorted by Obama, former presidents George W. Bush and George H. W. Bush departed from the Capitol's East Plaza in a helicopter prior to the lunch.

At the conclusion of the lunch, congressional leaders delivered gifts to Obama and Biden, including the flags that flew over the Capitol during the inauguration, official photographs and crystal bowls.

Other guests at the inaugural power lunch included more than two dozen House members and at least 20 senators. Among the notable seatings was a group of Senate barons -- dean Robert Byrd, D-W.Va.; Appropriations Committee Chairman Daniel Inouye, D-Hawaii; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Chairman Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and former Vice President Walter Mondale. Prior to the lunch, Obama made a point of shaking hands at that table, including with the beaming Kennedy. (Both Byrd and Kennedy subsequently suffered health problems, and were given medical attention and taken from the luncheon in wheelchairs.)

The House Democrats in attendance -- who were selected by Speaker Nancy Pelosi -- included party leaders, more than a half-dozen committee chairmen, Rep. Neil Abercrombie of Obama's early home of Hawaii and Rep. Jan Schakowsky of Obama's adopted hometown of Chicago. House dean John Dingell, D-Mich., and his wife Debbie were seated at a front table with Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia and Washington Mayor Adrian Fenty.

Several of Obama's Cabinet picks joined the lunch, including prospective Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Treasury nominee Timothy Geithner, Attorney General-designate Eric Holder, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano, former House members Hilda Solis and Ray LaHood (who have been tapped to lead Labor and Transportation, respectively), and Salazar.

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