It's great to have balance, an ability to look with perspective and peel back more layers of an issue, evaluate, etc.

But often the best leaders – and that's the essential role of an executive – are the ones willing to make a decision, firmly. As our society digs deeper and deeper into nuance and relativism, we risk losing the edge that creates real leaders. Those willing to decide and actually move the ball forward. It's a fine line, yes, but I believe we're trending the wrong way.

It's Barry Schwartz's Paradox of Choice.

—> This was a lofty comment, I am aware that it steps out a bit <—

Works great during an argument about economics.

That CBS Palin interview was brutal, but I generally enjoy the “Northern” accent. I've done a lot of business in Ontario and the women I know there use their uniqueness with me to great effect.

Arnold worked hard to overcome his accent initially. He had speech coaches, and if you listen to him now compared to when he started in the movies, it's an amazing transformation. But who cares about the accent? He applied himself, learned about politics, spent years in preparation, and he's made great decisions. I admire him. And I admire anyone who shows that kind of leadership and critical thinking.

I think you might want to check Sarah Palin's popularity numbers vis a vis George Bush and Congress. As of a Sept. 24 pool, she had a 68% approval rating, which is five times, not 10 times, the Congressional job approval ratings (which has an historical low of 14% on July 14). and approximately three times that of George Bush (his is at 25%, an all-time low). The point isn't so much the numbers, it's that numbers don't always tell the story. Being popular and being right don't always go hand-in-hand.

Here's the essence: It's not prejudiced to question a person's qualifications. And it's not unlike any of us to think accents that are different from Standard American English are different. That doesn't make them wrong — it's just a question. But the ability to speak articulately is something that transcends accents. In no way was I suggesting that a person would be screened out becuase of regional differences — only for qualifications and ability to fit into an executive job.

Do you think Canadians are stupid, generally? Unqualified for executive positions? Sarah sounds very Canadian to me, and here's why: http://www.slate.com/id/2201318/ . Actually, she has an extreme version of a Canadian accent found in the less populated northern parts of all the provinces. That's because it is a blending of native/eskimo speech patterns with the English and French colonizers, with a little bit of midwestern Scandinavian (Fargo) thrown in.

Does Arnold Schwarzenegger sound like an executive to you? After 20 years of SNL spoofs of his accent, he sounds like a caricature of himself to me. I can't help laughing quietly now every time I hear him, yet he's extremely intelligent and has done pretty well for himself. Or, how about Oprah Winfrey?

It's absolutely appalling to me that HR professionals would screen someone out because of purely regional attributes. Clearly, in the case of Sarah Palin, Alaskans are pretty happy with her — in fact, she's the most popular governor in the country. Her approval rating is nearly 4 times than of George Bush and almost 10 times that of Congress. You'd do well to ask why — she's clearly accomplished a lot that people value.

All this is regardless of political leanings — my leaning is that the entire political establishment is either incompetent or corrupt, and we could pick people randomly off the streets and get a better job done. But that speaks more to character than to accents or mannerisms or false judgments about intelligence and qualifications.