It’s not so much the bean counters, but the mission-techno-wizards that screwed up. The F-22 is an air superiority fighter. I am unaware of any fielded fighter elsewhere that can stand up to it.
But, the techno-geeks in the military decided there can be a single fighter designed to do all missions, from direct ground support (A-10s excel at this), to air-to-mud (F-16’s mission), to air to air (F-15’s), without trading off the missions versus the capability.
If the aircraft is designed for the mission, it usually works. If the aircraft is designed for several missions that directly contradict each other in terms of requirements, it rarely does.
Hence, the all-everything F-35 may just be a millstone.
I like the A-10, a primo tank buster. Each aircraft has its specialty. The nature of the beast, so to speak.