When you look at the job they had before them to organize a government during a time of war in just a few months NOT years or decades as it took the United States, which in fact in their first attempt The United States under the Articles of Confederation, failed after 10 years and had to be reorganized under the Constitution. So how is it that the Confederate Government was supposed to solve all the problems of government that as stated in the post that you responded too, that the quote from Deleon's book could be "applied to our government today"?
We have good men in our Government today but are they in the correct places? No Government of men ever preforms in the most effective manner in all cases that it could. Many of the people in high positions within our government today are appointed not because of qualification but because they are friends of somebody important, or have done political favors. So Davis surrounding himself with people he trusted is no different than we allow in our enlighten understandings now. That is the reason we have such things as peer reviews and evaluations. We expect our Government Not to act effectively.
Did Davis act stupidly? There is no doubt that he did from our perspective and in the somewhat clear vision of hindsight of those well after the war. BUT Davis was also very much loved and respected by the southern people after the war also.
It is surprising to me that either government North or South was able to get one wagon loaded with supplies to Armies which were 10's of thousands of men. Have you ever done a trail ride in a wagon and found out how hard that is to do?