Intuitively, the middle class can see that this is the end of an era. For those electronic pioneers who had brought the synth into British pop music, it was the end of an era. At a personal level, I am also afraid that Lugar's defeat may be the end of an era of enormously attractive and distinctive civility in the way that America's most senior legislators conducted themselves. The end of the cold war marked the end of an era when the major Powers could settle the terms among themselves over the heads of lesser countries. This moment could well mark the end of an era in Europe during which Realpolitik and spheres of influence were supposed to be replaced by cooperative norms and a country's right to choose its own path. Come on, it's like the end of an era. It's sort of... the end of an era. No, he's right. It's like the end of an era. The fall of the Berlin Wall marked the end of an era of mistrust and division, and opened the way for cooperation aimed at a peaceful and stable Europe. Today's financial crisis, triggered by the collapse of the housing bubble in the United States, also marks the end of an era of credit expansion based on the dollar as the international reserve currency. It is clear that the crisis marked the end of an era of rapid development and the beginning of an era of transition, but towards what new end? The end of an era, you might say. The end of an era, a hugely mediocre era. For those like me, a Death Dealer... this signaled the end of an era. His passing marks the end of an era. The historic summit meeting held in September 2000 marked the end of an era, the cold war era. The passing of our beloved Mayor Gunderson marks the end of an era. He saw the end of an era, and the world changed around him. Stanley Fischer's looming departure as the IMF's first deputy managing director marks the end of an era.