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At home, at school and at work, area residents followed the inauguration of Barack Obama with keen interest Tuesday, in many cases sharing the new president's enthusiasm and applauding his calls for a "new responsibility" and sacrifice, as well as reform.

"It's exciting," said Evelyn Doane, watching the inauguration at the Rev. Gordon Larson senior center in Attleboro along with Norene Funk and other seniors. "It's history being made."

Doane, watching the preliminaries leading up to the swearing in of the new president, said the economy will be the incoming president's greatest challenge and that Obama has her best wishes.

"I hope he'll be able to pull us out of whatever it is we're in," she said.

Funk concurred. "I hope so," she said. "I've never seen the country in such bad shape."

On the Attleboro campus of Bristol Community College, young people sat in wonderment at the pageantry and the immense crowds as they viewed a large screen Internet broadcast of the inaugural ceremonies. Several said they hoped the new president bodes well for their future.

Lindsay Chretien of North Attleboro said she felt buoyed by the Washington crowd's obvious enthusiasm.

"To see the optimism of so many people really helps," she said.

Statistics instructor Ken Herst led his class to the college auditorium to view the broadcast. "It's a historical moment," he said.

Student Pete Roberts of Rehoboth, whose employer Circuit City is going out of business leaving him and 30,000 without jobs, said the inauguration gave him hope.

"I'm excited to see that something like this could happen in my lifetime," he said.

Roberts said he hopes the new administration will jump start the economy.

"In Rhode Island, you've got almost one in 10 people out of work," he said. "That's just crazy."

At Sturdy Memorial Hospital, a small group of hospital workers and visitors clustered around a TV in the main lobby and applauded the new president's oath-taking and speech, which some said sounded like classic oratory. "It brings me back to John F. Kennedy," said Rita Pinto, director of case management.

Hospital employee Charlotte Soule said she doesn't think President Obama will be able to change the direction of the country overnight, but applauded his appeal for self sacrifice and his assurance that America is up to the challenges it faces.

"There's hope there," she said. "This man seems like he's going to try to do his best for the people."

A common theme among those who watched the inaugural was patience.

Few of those who watched President Obama place his hand on President Abraham Lincoln's bible to take the oath said they expected an immediate cure to the nation's economic problems, and that the incoming chief executive should be given a chance.

"You know, he's gone from 'We're going to fix this right now,' to 'This is going to take some time,'" said Shirley Nolin, owner of Shirley's Chocolates in downtown North Attleboro. "But he's our president, and I think he ought to be given some time."

Don Houde and his staff at Audio Concepts, a home theatre and television store in North Attleboro, gathered around several of the store's big-screen monitors to get a good view as Obama delivered his address. Houde, who said his business is holding its own despite the faltering economy, said he wishes the new president well. "He's got a big job in front of him," Houde said. "He's now the president, and he deserves our support."