substance against popularity

this scenario struck my mind last weekend.

it is the scenario of a popular person against one who is not so popular but believes to have more qualities than the other

can popularity really win the votes? if a person is popular but lacking in the substance that is required to take up the leadership position, then is he still qualified to do so? people who probably don't understand the situation will naturally assume that he can do the job. people who do understand the situation will probably think qualities triumph over popularity.

apparently, people tends to look at popularity and ignore the fact about substance. popularity can get you the human relationship that one wants but may not get the job done in the end. 

looking at it from the econ pt of view, i believe the marginal benefit of choosing popularity over substance is lesser than that of choosing substance.

but well, it is hard to stop a popular person from getting what he wants. probably in today's world popularity plays a larger factor than having substance.