Manafort was is a great guy who got Trump though the Republican convention. Look up the Podestas and their Russian lobbying. IOW if Manafort had never helped out Trump he would not have Mueller prosecuting him. Michael Cohen the same. These are super selective prosecutions. Add Mike Flynn and Jerome Corsi to the list.
Manafort did have a degree of political talent and had a decent understanding of the electoral process and how to navigate it...that said, I didn’t like the picture painted of Manafort by Cory Lewandowski as described in his book “Let Trump Be Trump”, and while I know he had an axe to grind with Manafort, info from other sources tends to bear out his description, as least from what I have seen.
By the way, I do agree with your post...