I also remember a comparison between Barack Obama and Lee Hsien Loong. While President Obama was learning JavaScript for the first time in office, PM Lee had wr

I also remember a comparison between Barack Obama and Lee Hsien Loong. While President Obama was learning JavaScript for the first time in office, PM Lee had written a C++ sudoku solver prior to high office in addition to being Senior Wrangler (top math undergrad) in Oxford. No, hard intelligence isn't everything (in fact it's probably overvalued in most parts of our society), but it may be a reliable indicator of other character traits important for soft skills, like persistence, diligence, and thoroughness. POTUS makes $400k per year. Singapore's PM makes $2.2M / year. It's hard to avoid thinking you get what you pay for sometimes. Personally, I would be much more inclined to consider public service if salaries for government positions were competitive with the free market. If I can reliably purchase a George Washington or an Abraham Lincoln quality POTUS for $300M per year, I would consider that money very well spent.