What surprised me about Obama’s inaugural speech was what a stinging rebuke of Republicanism it was, in particular, Bush era Republicanism. For all the talk lately about how Obama is a "post-partisan" Democrat, its partisanship was marked, especially in its stark rejection of the notions that the "free market" cures all and that the rule of law must be subjugated to security.

But this, to me, is the heart of the speech.

The question we ask today is not whether our government is too big or too small, but whether it works — whether it helps families find jobs at a decent wage, care they can afford, a retirement that is dignified.

From Reagan’s first inaugural:

Government is not the solution to our problem. Government is the problem.

It’s truly the end of an era.