What should the state build, and what should it stop building?

In the early 2000s, a liberal in America had two go-to sources of televised relief from the presidency of George W. Bush. The first was the sanity-preserving satire of The Daily Show, and the second was the bittersweet escapism of The West Wing. I remember in the years right after college getting the DVDs of West Wing episodes in the mail in their red Netflix sleeves and watching President Bartlet and company wrestle with ethical dilemmas, take ideas seriously, and strive for decency, all of which were an appreciated break from the calamity unfolding in the real-world White House.