President Barack Obama’s lofty ideals from his inaugural address ran smack into reality on Tuesday on the first working day of his second term.
Twenty four hours after Obama pledged to tackle climate change and called for gays and lesbians to be treated equally under the law, the White House struggled to back up his sweeping rhetoric with specifics.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney said while climate change was a priority for the president, “it is not a singular priority.”

On gay rights, the president had declared that the nation’s journey is “not complete until our gay brothers and sisters are treated like anyone else under the law.”

But Carney said the president was speaking about his personal views and would not take federal action on same-sex marriage, which he continues to see as a state issue.