“We have to have it, certainly, within many of our financial institutions that sort of have gotten us to where we are in this economic crisis today,” Gibbs said on Fox News Sunday.

Rahm Emanuel, the incoming Chief of Staff, said the “culture of responsibility” would be sought for American leaders as well as the population at large. “We need that culture of responsibility, not just to be asked of the American people, but its leaders must also lead by example,” he said on NBC’s Meet the Press.

Obama hopes to turn some of the focus back onto the electorate, as he did with his presidential campaign. In that sense, Obama will also revive a theme that belonged to outgoing President Bush, who in his 2000 campaign talked about ushering in a “responsibility era”.

Obama on Sunday sought to strike a balance between his trademark optimism and the challenges he faces.

“In the course of our history, only a handful of generations have been asked to confront challenges as serious as the ones we face right now,” Obama said. “Our nation is at war. Our economy is in crisis. Millions of Americans are losing their jobs and their homes... And most of all, they are anxious and uncertain about the future — about whether this generation of Americans will be able to pass on what’s best about this country to our children and their children.”