Read the following passage and answer the item that follows. Your answer to this item should be based on the passage only.

"In an operating theatre, we do not let just anyone hold the scalpel merely because they are confident and well-liked; we insist on years of training and a demonstrated command of the craft. Yet in commanding an army, or steering a city's finances, or running a hospital system, we too often hand the task to whoever campaigned hardest for it, trusting popularity where we would never trust it in surgery."

Which one of the following statements best reflects the message of the author of the above passage?