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“People from Kansas do not have an accent”
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but EVERY region in the US has an “accent”. It may not be noticeable to people who actually live there, but it’s there. I’ve lived in several different regions of the US, and my speech pattern is weird now because it’s mixed with different pronunciations for some words vs. the way I spoke growing up - and now that I’m living up North in Wisconsin I’m having trouble keeping the proper pronunciation of words like “boat”, “about”, and “Minnesota”. It’s just the way it goes...

I should add that I think people saying Obama HAS a “Kansas Accent” is pure bunk. He does use a preacher intonation though when he really “gets into” his speeches. And, I notice a bit of the “South Side” Chicago speech pattern slip in when he's not careful as well. Everyone has an accent, and many people are linguistic accomodaters without even thinking about it, or attempting to affect an accent... I am one such person... I lived in Tennessee for all of 5 months, and when I came back home (at the time) to Chicago EVERYONE made fun of the way I was talkin’... I didn't realize myself how much I had picked up.