I can’t yet feel comfortable with all of the things that newer editions are saying that Charisma has. Like force of personality, as though personality involved some kind of literal force, or an ability to impose one’s will on the universe. It seems like a stretch to me. For casting classes that use Charisma, I would like to have some reason why being likable enhances that magic or why having magic of that kind makes you more likable.
That's really the problem - stats that seemingly do too much or overlap. Charisma's dubious relationship with attractiveness has always been a problem. Also, as people with modern understanding of learning and psychology, that certain things treated as 'attributes' are learned behaviors.
Somewhat. I think it's also the changing nature of the game. The core six stats fit the early editions well enough, if you don't squint at them too close (and shouldn't). Three core stats for three classes, Str, Int, Wis, then three stats that are useful to everyone, Dex, Con, Cha. The introduction of the thief starts to break this, but since the thief is so weak, it isn't really notable yet.
Every change that drifts the meaning of those stats and the classes that need them pulls the game further away from the original six stats being a good fit. The switch to Wis for perception in WotC versions is particularly bad in that respect, though hardly the only example.
Arguably, the switch to Wis as awareness should have also had a switch of Cha to the clerical casting stat. Made it pure force of personality. It's not a great fit that all the clerics are somewhat capable at social interactions, but it's a much better fit than that they are all above average danger detectors. Or to split the difference, have Arcane powered by Int, Nature magic powered by Wis, and Divine magic powered by Cha. Druid's being perceptive and not all that social is a good fit and preserves a link to the earlier game.
There are several different ways to go from there (depending on goals). For example, I'd send the Bard closer to their roots and say that they are still Int as an alternate Wizard that happens to also need a fair Cha for typical activities, not to cast spells. However, it wouldn't be a killer to say that the Bard is Cha just to keep it simple, which opens up different ideas about arcane/divine/nature:
Wizard - arcane lore (Int)
Cleric/Paladin - divine personality (Cha)
Druid/Ranger - nature perception (Wis)
Bard - arcane personality (Cha)
Warlock - (un)natural perception
(Wis)
Sorcerer - arcane perception (Wis) (as a character that seems more archetypical magi)
Loremaster (instead of sorcerer, as a better fit to the game for the sorcerer mechanics) - divine lore (Int)
And so forth.
Edit: Fixed typos.