The tasks that face our new president are daunting and the solutions to our problems are not simple. But the dawn of a new Era of Responsibility means the burden is a collective one, and does not fall on the government alone.

Offering few tangible examples of what his tenure as president will bring, Obama struck a somber tone that starkly contrasted with the optimistic underpinnings of his victory speech we saw 77 days ago. The president strayed from his trademark message of change that steered his trek to the White House, instead treading down a path emphasizing one of the most rudimentary and fundamental American values: truth.