Let me be candid right up front — the title of this post is a shameless rip off of a great opinion piece from Walter Russell Mead, a member of the editorial board of The American Interest, titled When Government Jumps the Shark.  Mead’s writing really is outstanding, and if you haven’t yet read this particular piece, head on over and do so before you go any further here — I trust you’ll come back.  You’ll get some very thoughtful commentary from Mead on progressivism’s past and future, and just may, as I did, learn the origin of the phrase “jumping the shark.”  In that spirit (and the spirit of a modest spoiler), let’s have a moment of silence for Arthur Herbert Fonzarelli, who has made so, so many contributions to American pop culture, before we continue.

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