The Republican Party has reached out to President-Elect Barack Obama at the very moment he beat Republican Senator John McCain in the presidential elections. They negotiated with him, and they made clear to Democratic leaders and the American people that they were planning to be pragmatical and work on a bipartisan basis in the years ahead.

Republican leaders kept their promises thus far, but they too realize that giving Obama everything he wants out of a misguided sense of bipartisanship is not in their nor in the American people’s interest. They have, therefore, decided to play hardball with two individuals Obama nominated for top positions in his upcoming administration: Eric Holder and Tim Geithner. Both face increasing criticism from Republicans while Democrats are rallying around the two men.

Geithner is Obama’s designated Treasury secretary and Holder his nominee for attorney general. Republicans criticize Holder for his record as deputy attorney general during the Clinton administration and Geithner is under severe criticism because he failed ‘to pay Social Security and Medicare taxes between 2001 and 2004, when he was classified as self-employed while working for the International Monetary Fund.’

Holder is unanimously supported by Democrats, who are unwilling to give Republicans an inch, while Geithner’s position is somewhat weaker. The latter is supported by Democratic leaders nonetheless. Sen. Chris Dodd, for instance, worded the opinion of the Democratic leadership as follows: “My guess is that people want to know that people are working on their problems, on jobs and homes. If you’re trying to make more of this than the problems people are grappling with, I don’t think it will be appreciated except by a core constituency that doesn’t like him anyway.”

That may make sense to partisan Democrats, but some Republicans feel slightly different, and my guess is that the average American may disagree with Democrats as well and that especially at a time of crisis. After all, taxes may go up during such times; Obama has repeatedly told Americans that “everybody has to give.” Appointing a man who evaded taxes sends the message that Obama means “common folk” with “everybody” and not his best friends and closest allies.

Nonetheless, Democrats have decided to delay Geithner’s confirmation hearing until January 21 after Republicans made clear they are unwilling to confirm him this week (as originally planned). There are even Republican senators, such as John Thune (S.D.), vice chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, and Orrin Hatch (Utah), who have told reporters that the tax evasion issue “certainly hasn’t derailed him.” Other Republicans think differently, however.

“I think it’s a very serious issue — the man who wants to be the top tax collector in America hasn’t paid his taxes,” said Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.), the chairman of the Senate Republican Steering Committee, went so far as to say that he was likely to vote against Geithner during his confirmation hearing.

Holder too may face a hard time; Republicans intend to drill him hard over his years under President Bill Clinton. As the Hill reports today, for instance, ‘Sen. Arlen Specter (Pa.), the committee’s ranking Republican, criticized Holder on the Senate floor last week in a lengthy speech and reiterated his concerns in several subsequent television interviews.’

Barack Obama won the elections by promising Americans to change the way Washington works; he would end the partisanship and work with both sides to solve America’s problems. This message appealed to Americans after they had suffered from extreme partisanship during the eight years under George W. Bush (both parties poisoned the debate). Republicans realized this, and they also noticed that Obama was and remains highly popular, so they decided to change strategy and to cooperate with Democrats as much as they can. There are limits, and rightfully so, however, to what Republicans are willing to accept.

When a person is clearly qualified for a specific job, Republicans should not play partisan politics. They know this, which is why they will generally give every nominee a fair hearing. Some candidates, however, have issues, and these issues should be exposed and talked about. Republicans will serve their constituency and their nation badly by behaving like Obama’s allies in such cases. Rather, they should play the role of the loyal opposition; a role they did not have to play for years. It seems to me that they understand this and that they will, indeed, give nominees who lack credentials or who have a troubled past (and record) the hard time they deserve.

Republicans seem to understand that they have to pick and choose battles worth fighting. Geithner and Holder are, especially Geithner, such battles.