From Wall Street to Detroit, chief executives are losing their bonuses, agreeing to work for a dollar a year and in many cases losing their jobs. Congress is invading the executive suite, demanding veto power over management decisions as a price for tax-funded rescues. And, of course, stock prices have plummeted. It all looks like a sweeping vote of no confidence, as if the world thinks America’s executives and boards of directors are beset with an epidemic of incompetence, self-dealing or both. Many shareholder advocates see the financial collapse and economic woes as stunning proof of their long-held claim that too often the wrong people are in charge — and that attacking this problem demands an overhaul in corporate governance regulations. They propose a range of measures to encourage chief executives to focus on the long term rather than the next quarter, to give shareholders a “say on pay” and to make it easier for them to field their own candidates for directorships.…