It really doesn’t matter how it got there, but the end result was a shuttle program that was far too expensive given the results achieved for the money spent. The ONLY reason it lasted as long as it did was sentimentality...politics too.
BTW...we could have put Hubble in space without the shuttle, and were it not for the ocean of money wasted keeping the shuttle far past its’ prime, we could have 50 Hubbles right now.
It does matter how it got there. That’s how we avoid those mistakes in the future. We’ve had 40 years of a half assed space program because of one decision by Nixon, and continuing bad decisions (like not immediately beginning the design of the replacement). Sentimentality has nothing to do with why it’s lasted this long, bad decisions by 8 presidents in a row are why it’s lasted this long, they never put forth the money to start the process of replacing it. It was only supposed to be around for a decade or so, but with no new vehicle behind it it was either keep using it or end our participation in manned space.
The shuttle didn’t just put up the Hubble, it fixed it, multiple times.