It took the Republicans just three minutes to violate their Pledge to America.

In a lumber yard near Dulles International Airport Thursday morning, House Republicans handed out copies of their pledge, which, among other things, promises to rein in an "arrogant and out-of-touch government of self-appointed elites."

Yet moments after taking the stage to face the cameras, Republican leaders appointed themselves arrogant elites. They compared themselves to the founding fathers and likened their actions at Tart Lumber Co. to the signing of the Declaration of Independence in Philadelphia.

Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) told the reporters he would speak slowly and with clarity, "just as John Hancock boldly signed his name to the Declaration of Independence so even Britain's King George could read it."

McCarthy, who led the pledge initiative, piled on the sentimentality, declaring: "We pledge to uphold the model for our country our founders envisioned, a grander America, the exception among the nations of the earth, where promise of liberty refreshes the hopes of mankind!"

Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) then read passages from the GOP pledge that paraphrase the Declaration of Independence: "Every American citizen is endowed with certain rights from their creator. When our government charts a course that endangers those rights, the people -- indeed, the people! -- have the right to demand a new agenda from their government."

The 45-page booklet outlining the pledge uses some archaic fonts reminiscent of the founding texts, and it is filled with random snippets of historical phrases such as "consent of the governed" and "bearing true faith and allegiance." The Republicans illustrated their own importance with a full-page photo of Mount Rushmore facing a full-page photo of Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) working at a meat counter.

Yet for all the grandiosity, the pledge is small in its ambition. The policy goals are banal ("Support the troops! Fight the terrorists!), and the prescriptions are often narrow and procedural (weekly votes on proposed regulations).

The flaws quickly became apparent Thursday morning when the lawmakers made the mistake of taking questions. "There are not many specifics in here about how you would get to the balanced budget if you plan to extend all the tax cuts and expand defense spending," the AP's Julie Hirschfeld Davis pointed out. "So can you give us some more details?"

John Boehner, the man who would be House speaker if Republicans win, responded that "by having the spending cap at 2008 levels, we can save $100 billion a year."

"What percentage of the problem in terms of our deficit is being taken care of by this plan?" Slate's John Dickerson inquired.

Boehner only repeated that Republicans would be "saving $100 billion a year" by returning spending to 2008 levels.