When the Hebrew people decided they needed an earthly King since the other nations had one, God granted their request.  They chose Saul, who by worldly standards was ideal.  As time progressed, though it became apparent that he wasn't the man that God chose.  God chose David because He had a heart attuned to God.  Did it matter about the leader's relationship to God?  Maybe not to God's people, but it certainly did to God.  If we believe that whatever happens is already set in stone, then whoever our leaders are will be there because God placed them there, and whatever I do is of no consequence.  If, on the other hand there is free will in the world, then what we do in electing leaders is important, and if God's people don't feel that a leader's relationship to God is important,we can rest assured that the rest of the world doesn't.  Then, we stand in danger of having a Saul instead of a David. As stated before, I stand on the side of free will and say that if we are to be His people called by His name and are to return to Him, our leaders need to know Him and His direction.