Commentary Powerful people, including ex-presidents, have spoken about shadow governments; the idea that real power resides with private individuals, not with elected officials. “Behind the ostensible government,” warned Teddy Roosevelt, “sits enthroned an invisible government owing no allegiance and acknowledging no responsibility to the people.” The first task of a true statesman, he argued, involved the destruction of “this invisible government, to befoul the unholy alliance between corrupt business and corrupt politics.” Over a century on, the words of the 26th president of the United States still resonate. In fact, they couldn’t be more appropriate. If alive today, one wonders what Roosevelt would make of McKinsey & Co., the so-called “trusted advisor and counselor” to some of the world’s most influential organizations and institutions. In fact, McKinsey is so powerful that it “counsels” both the U.S. government and influential Chinese state-owned organizations, according to a new NBC News investigation. The term “conflict of interest” instantly springs …