It wasn’t always as bad as it is now.
A guy my Mom went to school with was drafted out of high school and ended up in the army. He didn’t think it was a bad deal. He went from hunting and fishing to help feed the family to being able to send some cash home, with plenty for himself. Government employment looked so good he joined the FBI after the army.
After he retired from the FBI he came back and opened a convenience store with a food counter. He did a great business.
Get him in a talkative mood and he would tell you what he knew of the corruption in government. Even then there was a lot of corruption. Mostly at the highest levels.
By the time he retired he swore the corruption reached from top to bottom. And he also related how the bureaucracy became more partisan as time went on. Political partisanship that would have gotten you fired when he started was expected when he retired.
A fella from my hometown ended up working in fedgov for thirty years, twenty-five in the White House. He started in the WH when Papa Bush was in office and continued until he retired in 2018.
He said the Bushes weren’t too bad but the Bush women had a firm grip on the family jewelry.
He said even in the White House the Clinton marriage was all about convenience and that Hillary was the nastiest skank he ever saw.
According to him Monica Lewinsky wasn’t the only woman servicing the oval office.
While he never said it he left the impression that the Kenyan was stoned for most of his eight years and ValJar ran things. Obie just showed up for bill signings and the TV cameras.
And yes, the Mooch gave Hillary a run in the skank department.
His favorite President was none other than Donald John Trump Sr. He said he expected the “You’re Fired” guy from The Apprentice but he got Mr Rogers instead. He said that throughout four administrations the Trump White House was the only one where the leader of the Free World would trouble himself about the hired help.
His job brought him into contact with the President three days a week. Every other President handed it off to a staffer. Except Trump. Trump would have his thrice a week meeting, usually 40 minutes to an hour, every week he was in country. And he would always squeeze in time to ask about the guys health, mood, whatever.
And don’t get him started on Melania!
He fell in love with Melania.
He said that the Trump administration came closest to what the Founders imagined. They realized that they were the Ultimate Servants of We The People. They knew the Office of President was bigger than any person.
The quality of the decisions made by Trump speak for themselves. From moving the US embassy in Israel, downsizing some of the regulations, the S. border, to China... Trump had his priorities straight and we as a nation benefited in terms of national security and economically.
Again IMHO, Trump was unique. His name was already known around the world. “Trump” was known on the East side of the wall when it was still up. He had all the women you can imagine or he wanted (sorry for being vulgar but it's true), he had the notoriety/fame, and billions.
Trump had freedom of movement/choice/decision.
Trump was able to do what Trump wanted/felt was right and IMHO he is guided by the motivation to build his legacy (a lasting monument to his existence). The political considerations were largely out of the window. But that made him a loose cannon, a danger to those who really run the country.
We love to talk about the “Russian oligarchs.” Truth is, we are a nation run by oligarchs as well. There are a handful of interests and many have common interests which basically run this country. Trump shat on their porch with things like restricting trade with China (big tech was pissed, as was Amazon etc.), or his executive order controlling the price gouging of US pharma that might charge $300 a month here for a medication they charge $12 for in Brazil (big pharma). He wasn't liked much by the government bureaucrat since he was all about cutting regulations, cutting on certain departments, controlling government spending (the government establishment despised him).
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-27074746 It's a word that we don't like to use for ourselves, but why do you think ALL trade restrictions and tariffs from the Trump era regards China are lifted? Why have those that spied on the US or engaged in illegal activities been let go to China, never to see again?
Within 6 months: https://www.npr.org/2021/09/24/1040550224/a-huawei-executive-held-in-canada-resolves-criminal-charges-in-a-deal-with-the-u
Why did this happen within 2 weeks of taking office? https://www.cnn.com/2021/02/01/politics/biden-trump-drug-prices/index.html
Buffet (a big time Democrat) is happy, the Keystone pipeline was canceled right away!
Frankly, while everyone talked about Obama and the risk to his life, bla bla bla (stupid race crap which this country is obsessed with), he was a party player, bought and owned. You might have a true lone wolf, but it was Trump that was at risk of being whacked really. He pissed off a lot of folks that lost billions and are very powerful as well as ruthless.
Trump did what was right and no one owned him.