"Douglas Adams in the Hitchhiker's guide to the galaxy series had the ultimate take on this. Anyone who wanted to be president of the universe would automatically be disqualified from getting the job. And the actual president of the universe was some hermit on a moon who had no idea he was the president and would welcome visitors who would come occasionally with papers who would say "please sign here"."

Perfect (I think) analogy. I'm glad to encounter someone else who sees what that book is; it's a not-so-subtle critique of our modern world. And a great read, too.