That’s right. Obama is only the latest chapter...the deep state got established back when FDR turned the executive branch into his own personal political machine. Roosevelt expanded the bureaucracy exponentially, and unashamedly saw it as a mechanism for delivering on his quid pro quo obligations and for enforcing political compliance.
The permanent bureaucracy was largely created to serve Democrat politicians, and was unfazed by Republican administrations, whose term limited elected officials and political appointees had little or no time to direct meaningful changes.
The GOP is a large part of the problem. Even when they controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, they made no attempt to rein in federal spending. Even under Trump, federal spending has gone through the roof.
And in all these Democrat debates, not one candidate has been asked what he or she would do about the balancing the budget.
Wasn’t it Wilson who established the Administrative State?
Always thought he was worse than FDR but I could be wrong.