On Fat Tuesday, President Barack Obama challenged us to tighten our belts. He called us to live responsibly right when revelers in New Orleans have traditionally let it all hang out. In the official Republican response to the President’s address, even Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal urged restraint while his state celebrated. Lent came early to Washington, DC and our nation. But will we really adopt an economic Slimfast?

Ash Wednesday kicks of forty days of fasting and penance. Lent is a time of scaling back, of cutting out the excess. The question often becomes, “What are you giving up for lent?” Red meat? Chocolate? Video games? We take a break from our routine, pausing to remember the few things that matter. We prepare to celebrate Jesus’ resurrection.

As the Christian community ushers in a season of sacrifice, America is going through a bit of soul searching. All kinds of institutions are adopting LEAN measures to respond to the economic crisis. How have we all overindulged? What distractions and excess do we need to pare away? President Obama made no overt connections between his address to the nation and the forty days of lent. But when have we experienced such remarkable alignment between a religious season and a national mood?

Despite Obama’s optimistic tone, we all recognize that we’re in for much more than forty days of fasting. It may take years to restart our economic engine. So in the meantime, what are you giving up for Lent? What sacrifices will we all be making for the sake of our economic survival?