Meet the new boss, same as the old boss

I just started David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning 1776, about the Revolutionary War, and was struck by this paragraph in the first chapter:

Despite the war, or more likely because of it, the King remained popular in the country at large and could count on a a loyal following in Parliament. Political philosophy, patriotism, and a sense of duty comparable to the King's own figured strongly in both houses. So, too, did the immense patronage and public money that were his alone to dispense. And if that were not sufficient, there was the outright bribery that had become standard in a blatanly mercenary system not of his making, but that he readily employed to get his way.

The King's name, I need not remind you, my fellow historians, was George.