Government in Isaiah

On this US election day, a few words from John Oswalt's (excellent) commentary on Isaiah 1-39 in the NICOT series, which I am working my way through in conjunction with a Bible Study Fellowship study on Isaiah this year.

"That pride and arrogance which exalts humanity issues in an adulation of the 'great' men of society. But that very adulation renders them less and less able to lead their people. For just leadership can only come from persons who know their own weaknesses and corruptibility. Furthermore, when such a person knows that he or she is ultimately responsible to God, the task is approached with awe and dedication. But the person who believes, consciously or otherwise, that humanity is ultimate can all too easily accept the glowing things that people say about him or her . . . and the only goal is to keep them saying those things. 'Government' disappears as the leaders pander more and more to the ever-changing whims of a fickle people." (253; on Isaiah 9:12-16)