"I thought it was an amazing speech, and historically very important,” Krauthammer said on Fox News in the aftermath of the speech. "This was really Obama unbound. And I think what's most interesting is that Obama basically is declaring the end of Reaganism."

In his famous 1981 inaugural speech, Ronald Reagan said that government "is the problem" — not the solution. Krauthammer said that Obama's, on contrast, was a "rebuke" to Reagan.

"This speech today was an ode to big government. It was a hymn to big government," he said.

Krauthammer noted what others have pointed out — that Obama's speech focused on liberal themes, with climate change, entitlements, and gay rights among them. He chided Obama for making little mention of the economy or the federal deficit.