總統能否領導國家前行，其中民眾對總統聲望的評價具有相當影響力，因此民眾對總統聲望的來源為何是本文的核心問題。本研究的研究對象為民眾、記者與社論，深入地說，本研究探討「民眾」對陳水扁總統聲望（施政滿意度）的評估、「記者」和「社論」如何評價陳水扁總統。其中媒體記者對總統的看法，以及新聞媒體（社論）的立場提供民眾評價總統的資訊來源，因此記者對陳水扁總統的看法、社論立場為本研究自變數，民眾對總統聲望（施政滿意度）的評價為依變數，且影響總統聲望。在研究方法上，本研究對民眾採用二手調查資料分析、對記者採深入訪談法、對社論採內容分析法。本研究從記者的訪談，分析他們對陳水扁總統領導與聲望的看法，也從報紙社論析釐出報社對總統的施政評價，發現記者與報社認為影響總統施政滿意度下滑的原因與民眾認為總統表現不佳之處不謀而合，這也進一步影響總統的聲望及其對國家的領導。本研究試圖串連媒體、總統聲望及總統領導三項概念，也以實證資料分析獲致三者的關聯方向。

People’s evaluation of a president’s prestige is believed to have a very powerful effect on whether he or she can lead the country forward. And sources of how the public views a president’s prestige come from reporters’ perspectives and information offered in the stance of the news and media. Therefore, the study stresses on interviews of different reporters to analyze their attitudes toward President Chen Shui-bian’s leadership and his prestige, and secondly, clarifies newspaper offices’ comments on President Chen’s policies through newspaper editorials. Moreover, the study discovers a coincidence between reasons reporters and newspaper offices claim to affect the decline of the president’s policy satisfaction and those people perceive his poor performance. And these above further question President Chen’s prestige and how he leads the country.