Public Lacks Trust in Leaders

As politicians gear up for the mid-term elections, a new Harvard study shows that the country’s leaders are not measuring up to the public’s expectations.

The second annual National Leadership Index, a study commissioned by U.S. News & World Report and the Center for Public Leadership at the John F. Kennedy School of Government, revealed falling confidence in the nation’s leadership, as well as growing concern that politicians are not in touch with the people’s needs.

The study conducted interviews with a representative sample of 1,604 adults in the continental U.S. Subjects were asked to rate their confidence in the country’s leadership on a scale from 1 to 4, with 4 representing the highest confidence.

The Index showed, among other compelling statistics, that 70 percent of Americans think there is a leadership crisis in the country today—up from 66 percent one year ago.

The study also examined confidence in the leadership of specific sectors, including the military, the state, congress, businesses, and the executive branch.

On average, military and medical leaders—two out of the 11 categories examined, received more than a “3: moderate” amount of support both in 2005 and 2006. Confidence in both categories fell slightly since last year.

However, the confidence in the leadership of five other sectors—Congress, the executive branch, education, religion, and business—has fallen since last year.

Confidence did not increase in any of the categories surveyed.

“[The American people] are even more critical of the nation’s leaders in 2006 than they were last year after the failures of [Hurricane] Katrina,” David R. Gergen, U.S. News’ editor-at-large and director of the Center for Public Leadership, said in a statement.

The National Leadership Index also analyzed the confidence levels of Americans based on their political affiliation.

The study revealed that Republicans lost confidence in the executive branch of the federal government. Democrats and Independents, however, did not.

Eric P. Lesser ’07, president of the Harvard College Democrats, said that he believes this trend is evident among students at Harvard.

“The intensity and the breadth of the sentiment is one I’ve never seen in people. People who identified as Independents or Republicans now say they want Democrats to win,” Lesser said.

However, Mark A. Shepard ’08, vice president of the Harvard Republican Club, said that the organization continues to have confidence in the countries leaders.

“There are always disagreements here and there with national leadership politics. We as the Republican Club stand behind the president and all of his initiatives,” he said.

Additionally, the Index showed that 38 percent of Americans believe that most leaders today have high ethical standards, down from 39 percent last year.

Confidence in America’s influence on the world also fell, as 70 percent of those surveyed believe the U.S. is a less respected global leader than it was in the past.