We, the people have had a grand wallow of binding ourselves together over the past few days, from the tribal frenzy of the NFL playoffs to the lofty visions of togetherness celebrated on the King Holiday, to the second inauguration of Barack H. Obama, president of the United States.

The difficulty some still have in swallowing the last clause of the preceding sentence gave U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, by now the South’s longest-serving and most seasoned political leader, a tricky assignment Monday. As co-chair of the inauguration committee, he was the only Republican to speak at the swearing-in ceremony.

Alexander seemed to be speaking directly to his party’s most disaffected when he recalled the words of his fellow Tennessean Alex Haley: “Find the good, and praise it,” repeating the admonishment twice more for emphasis in a two-minute speech.