It really does boil down to "Power either corrupts or attracts the corrupt."
The US only lasted as long as it has because it recognized that fact and took steps to restrict the power, either by splitting it up, or by limiting how long individuals had access to it. Of course, scumbags figured out the meta and cheat the system by installing literal puppets or otherwise outright ignoring the rules.
It really does boil down to "Power either corrupts or attracts the corrupt."
The US only lasted as long as it has because it recognized that fact and took steps to restrict the power, either by splitting it up, or by limiting how long individuals had access to it. Of course, scumbags figured out the meta and cheat the system by installing literal puppets or otherwise outright ignoring the rules.