Obama’s second inaugural address was, in turns, more modest and bolder than his first. On the one hand, gone were the calls for bipartisanship and, by implication, the idea that an opposition party dedicated solely to thwarting his aims can be counted on as a viable negotiating partner. Changing the political culture in Washington, it seems, is not within the power of the President. John F. Harris and Jonathan Martin of Politico point out that “Obama made no mention of transforming the political and governing process in his speech.”

Thus, the tragedy of America’s crushed ambition to transcend the petty realities of Washington politics is embodied in Obama’s inaugural speech.  Liberals and conservatives, unable to reach consensus on much of anything else, can share in this grand disappointment. Obama’s complicity in this persistence of the status quo runs no further than having the audacity to hope for change after the bitterness of the Bush years. But the past four years have been more partisan and divisive than ever, dispelling the notion that one man, regardless of his good intentions, can reconcile the cultural fissures that divide the U.S.

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But if Barack Obama cannot single-handedly transform a broken political system, he can certainly guide it in a more progressive direction. Setting aside the lofty bipartisanship and pragmatic gestures of four years ago, his latest speech gave voice to unquestionably ideological concerns. In addition to mentioning gay rights in an inaugural address for the first time in U.S. history, the President was unambiguous in his call to combat climate change.

Whether or not his commitment to these issues will yield concrete results over the course of his second term is an open question. Nevertheless, the mere fact that the POTUS is willing to mention them in a speech addressed to the entire nation is an encouraging sign, especially when the economic crisis provides ample cover to avoid such thorny issues.

And therein lies the greatest strength of Obama’s inaugural speech: it successfully weaves the major issues of our time into the greater tapestry of American history. Despite the efforts of a still- formidable conservative movement, gay rights and equal pay for women, shortly over a decade ago consigned to the shadows of the national discourse, now stand alongside the 1960s civil rights struggle as part of the American story. At long last, it seems, the cultural winds are shifting.

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Of course, in dissecting any political speech, it is just as important to look at what went unmentioned. Some glaring omissions include abortion rights, the travails of the Eurozone and, barring a few broad platitudes, foreign policy as a whole. Secretary of Defense nominee Chuck Hagel’s upcoming Congressional hearings will likely give the president ample opportunity to lay out a vision for America’s role in the world, including the size of its military post-Iraq and Afghanistan and its policy regarding Iran.

Guns control, too, was largely absent from the speech, which seems odd considering he has already invested so much political capital in the loaded (no pun intended) subject following the horrific shooting in Newtown, Connecticut. But this omission is in line with his speech as a whole, which concerned itself primarily with the broader economic and social issues through the lens of American history.

Liberals naturally hope that gun control will be a major part of this conversation, but Harry Reid and red-state Democrats seem to be getting cold feet. Perhaps Obama and his speechwriters decided that an inaugural address was not the time to focus on such a controversial issue, much less one his own party does not agree on. Still, if gun control once again fades from the national discourse as it has in the past – a very real possibility, despite yet another shooting today at Lone Star College in Houston – gun control proponents may look back on Obama’s decision not to keep the conversation alive as a missed opportunity.

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Quibbles aside, progressives should be satisfied with president’s speech. Obama’s words marked a decisive shift on issues that have traditionally found liberals on the defensive. If he is successful in his second term, Obama’s inaugural address could go down in history alongside FDR’s and Reagan’s as harbingers of major political change in the U.S.