I think it's only common to assess, evaluate, or rank, candidates from any field of measurement based on the same variables you cited, give or take. Hype and vesting, peer pressure, occupational circumstances, tradition, or, alternatively, the urge to break away from tradition, all play into it on some level. Sometimes it's only once you are able to get past the latter intangibles that the actual substance of a candidate is taken into full account, although by that time it's often too late, since minds often tend to be made up based on less substantive (or more politically expedient) factors.
Take the OECD and ITU "broadband" rankings, for example. We often bemoan slipping behind other nations, which usually causes much commiseration and cynicism. Then, as if out of the blue, something like the following from the Economist comes along that gives cause for pause, prompting one to re-evaluate the larger context of issues that depend on connectivity, and not the connectivity, itself (with thanks to Michael Spector who posted this to the Cook Report discussion list last week):
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The Intelligence Unit (“EIU”) of “The Economist” Magazine has published the results of its annual report on “e-readiness”, essentially a study of ease of net use, country by country, and region by region. Measured, and weighted, parameters include not only connectivity but also such factors as relative affordability, political and social policy, and business environment. A change in methodology (viz-The increase of purported importance of social and political governmental programs, the downgrading of import of gross number of net accounts, and the removal of consideration of landline POTS accounts) has served to narrow margins, albeit still considerable in many instances, between nations.
Denmark remains top ranked followed by The U.S.A, tied with Sweden, in second place. (It is of interest to note that in “Business Environment” rankings, Canada in first place edges out the U.S. because of imputed “lower political stability”, noted in the latter!)
The full white paper is online at: tinyurl.com
Or, for those on list with a religious prohibition against tiny url: a330.g.akamai.net
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