“loading our agencies with Deep State operatives”
Obama had 8 years. What about George Bush before him? President Bush had 8 years to load the agencies too. Surely he put in some decent people who are still there today? I hope so.
GWB seems to be much closer to O than Trump. I would not count on the quality of his staffing either.
But he didn't. The problem with Bush / Cheney is that they filled the agencies, not with folks who were competent, but folks who were politically loyal [which is part of how Iraq turned into such a mess], as did the Clintons before him. Utter, unmitigated, unquestioned incompetence has been the rule in our federal agencies for 24 years, and I challenge you to prove me wrong.
What is particularly distinctive about Bush is how easily his imprint on the government was to remove - in those few places where one might argue he actually did some good.