Starbucks CEO warns the U.S. presidential elections are turning into a ‘circus’ … CEO Howard Schultz criticized the presidential candidates for making ‘bombastic attacks’ without ‘respect’ for each other. He warned the run-up to the U.S. election had ‘turned into something none of us has ever seen before… almost a circus.’ – Daily Mail

The outspoken head of Starbucks believes that today’s US elections are a “circus,” and he has a point. In the past, certainly, the rhetoric surrounding US elections could be solemn, even sanctimonious.

Ronald Reagan regularly described America as a “shining light on a hill.” Newt Gingrich ran on a very serious sounding “contract with America” that was signed Sept. 27, 1994 on the Capitol steps in Washington, D.C., by members of the Republican minority.

The “Contract with America” offered legislation that would move through the House of Representatives within the first 100 days of the 104th…