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You're describing the Jedi as being corrupt. I don't think that there was corruption. They became complacent and it resulted in them becoming ensnared in the scenario that Sidious (or Plagueis?) meticulously crafted to destroy them.
They became entangled with the government bureaucracy of the Republic, because their duty to serve the people overlapped with the government's, but in doing so the associated bureaucratic red tape and political and legal considerations came into play, so that their ability to help people was only so much as the government would allow them. Qui-Gon Jinn and Obi-Wan Kenobi are beyond reproach and their credibility is trusted as witnesses, yet the Jedi themselves couldn't take action against the Trade Federation's illegal invasion of Naboo because the Republic itself wouldn't.
Their extremely strict dogma, designed to prevent more Dark Jedi or Sith, also resulted in their numbers slowly dwindling over the millennium from the end of the New Sith Wars and the start of the films. It also ensured that, while few Jedi ever left the order, and fewer of them still turned to the dark side, that the Jedi themselves were completely isolated in their ivory tower away from the people they were supposed to be helping. Consequently they lacked any sense of empathy for the non-Jedi, which dulled their compassion.
For the specifics of the Clone Wars, the Jedi had no choice but to lead the clones. It's either that or end their role as guardians of the Republic, which is what they'd come to define themselves by and how they measured their self-worth. They weren't going to let a 25,000 year tradition end, especially if doing so doomed the Republic.
They were further screwed that Sidious was playing both sides against the middle -- them.
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