Of course, President-elect Barack Obama's most urgent task is to repair an ailing economy. But one of his important promises was to end the cultural and religious wars that have disfigured American politics for four decades.

A good place to start the healing process: our decades-long conflict over abortion.

In theory, common ground is hard to find on abortion. Neither those who see it as a fundamental right nor those who see it as a form of murder are prepared to compromise on their core principles.

Yet a very large number of Americans are simultaneously uneasy with a government ban on abortion and with abortion itself. Substantial majorities would not make abortion illegal but would still like there to be fewer of them.

One candidate spoke directly to this unease. "There surely is some common ground," Obama declared toward the end of the third presidential debate.

He argued that "those who believe in choice and those who are opposed to abortion can come together and say, 'We should try to prevent unintended pregnancies by providing appropriate education to our youth, communicating that sexuality is sacred and that they should not be engaged in cavalier activity, and providing options for adoption, and helping single mothers if they want to choose to keep the baby.' " Obama added: "Nobody's pro-abortion."

Once he assumes office, Obama might be tempted to forget that moment, issue the pro-choice executive orders that the abortion rights movement expects and move back to the sagging economy. But doing this would be both politically foolish and a breach of faith with the pro-life progressives who came to Obama's defense during the campaign. They argued that Obama truly was committed to reducing the number of abortions. He shouldn't turn them into liars.

Rep. Tim Ryan, a pro-life Democrat from Ohio, stumped all over his state urging Catholic groups and others on his side of the abortion question to put their faith in Obama's pledge. He's confident Obama will keep it.

In moving quickly, he says, Obama would "show that there is a new politics by acting on one of the most divisive issues of the last 30 years." This should not be hard, Ryan says, since the central elements of their bill are "bread-and-butter issues for Democrats."

These include contraception programs, even if they are a sticking point for some social conservatives, along with "programs that are going to encourage women to bring their children to term." Among them: expanded health coverage for women and children, more child care, adoption help and income support for the working poor.