"presidents" in the US are little more than figureheads, they have next to no power. how do you think you end up with ex actors, reality tv stars, previous president sons, nearly previous president's wife. it's pretty remarkable these people just so happened to possess the elite level political ability you'd expect would be necessary to reach the top of the political pile in a country of 300 odd million.
obama was the only recent one with any actual political acumen.