I think the common notion that leaders have gotten progressively worse throughout CN history is an exaggeration. And it can be realized in the context where the bemoaning of the lack of leaders is almost always mentioned - in OWF threads where people are campaigning against their rivals. It's easy to insult enemy leadership when comparing it to a ghost of the past that can't be proved or disproved. And once it's said over and over enough, the idea sticks beyond just rhetoric. I don't believe much of it beyond the obviously logical decline in general CN population, that leads obviously to an absolute decrease in the amount of "potentially excellent" leaders, but not to a relative decrease as a percentage of total nations.