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 Congress – including tax cuts, a permanent line-item veto and measures to reduce crime and provide middle-class tax relief.

Of course, Gingrich's time in office ended badly and politicians generally have a difficult time enacting their promises.

In this Daily Mail article, however, Schultz mourns the old depictions, false as they were. He either doesn't understand or refuses to recognize that the Internet has increasingly stripped away the consequential veneer Western electioneering used to enjoy.

People understand more fully the flawed nature of their candidates. And in return, candidates themselves are becoming more strident and aggressive.

We can certainly see this in the current GOP federal election contest. It was inevitable that someone like Donald Trump would emerge to exploit the possibilities of electronic electioneering.

Trump's tendency to employ insults has turned the GOP nomination contest into a kind of mockery. The mainstream media cannot control his rhetoric as it would have in the past. His insults circulate – and resonate.

Jeb Bush is "low energy." Ted Cruz is a "liar." Former President Bill Clinton is a "woman abuser."

This is simply part of a larger process. The Internet has torn gaping holes in the credibility of leadership and how it is selected. In the US, for instance, trust in Congress is in the single digits. That's a rounding error.

The cynical perceptions of US citizens are increasingly shared by those in Europe, China, Brazil and elsewhere – in countries large and small.

Regulatory democracy in general is increasingly seen as an untrustworthy system. Too many of its major players have been discredited. Too many of its stated goals have proven to be untrue.

And the Internet has allowed voters to categorize those broken promises.

In self-defense, the age-old elites behind the system of regulatory democracy (and the "divinity of kings" before that) are moving toward the new paradigm of "technocracy," a system run by an elite of technical experts.