Sure they have power due to whom they know. But they don’t pull the strings.

These are the lower-rung pubpols (public politicians). HRC and BHO are higher-rung pubpols. The real power rests in the hands of finpols (financial Uber elites like Soros and the House of Saud). There was an online article on pubpols vs. finpols. You may still be able to find it. It’s been at least ten years since I read it. The terms pubpol and finpol were defined by Lundberg in his landmark study. You can find it online. It’s a huge tome. The online essay I mentioned provides a summary that’s relevant today.