Did the "era of big government" REALLY end during the Clinton administration?

Reuters gets my vote for the most clueless news article introduction of the day:

Obama brings back era of big government
Thu Feb 26, 2009 8:48pm GMT

By Steve Holland - Analysis

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Bill Clinton declared more than a decade ago "the era of big government is over." With his new budget, President Barack Obama has brought it back.

Attention, Steve Holland: Bill Clinton's declaration was nothing more than hot air. Big government hardly slowed its expansion under Bill Clinton.

The era of big government certainly did not end under George W. Bush, either. Among many egregious examples, Bush's addition of prescription drugs to the Medicare entitlement was an abomination of big government expansion.

Of course, as Mr. Holland's article goes on to describe, Barack Obama has already beggared his predecessor's worst big-government accomplishments.

But, good grief -- there must be a better way to intro this fact than by resurrecting a meaningless throwaway line from a Clinton speech.