I suspect modern politicians are far-removed from their predecessors, in that these historical figure heads performed other roles in society and as a result of their effectiveness they were elected [by the citizens they had already benefited] to wield political power (determine the direction for tax-derived resources to be deployed [1] [2])

Now, the modern "career politician" may be one who can say many words and appear reasonable and educated [3] despite having only spent his/her life in classrooms and "seats" of progressing political levels.

I'm assuming that for the past few decades, POTUS has been just a ceremonial role for mass media consumption. If you need a metaphor (American football), the POTUS is a lineman, the vice POTUS is the quarterback, (Queen Amidala and Handmaiden Padme) the coach/offensive&defensive coordinator/ team owner are people you will never see on a screen (sidelines).

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antoninus_Pius

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucius_Quinctius_Cincinnatus

[3] https://www.huffpost.com/entry/ted-cruz-green-eggs-and-ham_n...