It doesn’t take long for crooks and psychopaths to figure out that, if decent people think it’s virtuous to submit to political "authority," then all the crooks and psychopaths have to do is BECOME that political "authority," and they are set for life.

Exactly. Brings to mind "Why the Worst Get on Top" in Hayek's The Road to Serfdom. But government also gives authority to lots of people we might not think of as our leaders, like the regulators and staffers in any number of corrupt government agencies. But they have great power over us.

So many people miss the threat of government in general because they believe if they can just get "their guy" or "their womyn" in that position of power, everything will be great. But even if you did get a really great figurehead in there, the corrupt agency regulators would continue their power plays.