Schultz for President?

          A group called Americans Elect wants to put a centrist candidate on the ballot in all fifty states and Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks and former owner of the Seattle Supersonics, is apparently on the short list for consideration.  With assets of over a billion dollars he certainly has the funds necessary to run a campaign, but what would he be like as president?  He is a successful businessman but beyond that, indications are few.Howard Schultz

          In August, Schultz cancelled a speaking engagement at The Global Leadership Summit sponsored by the Willow Creek Community Church, after an online petition accused the megachurch of being anti-gay.  In September, Schultz wrote an open letter that ran as a full-page ad in both the New York Times, and USA Today.  In the letter, Schultz called for a boycott of political donations until the country’s leaders pass a “transparent, comprehensive, bipartisan debt-and-deficit package is reached that honestly, and fairly, sets America on a path to long-term financial health and security.”       

          According to the Los Angeles Times, Americans Elect has already collected 1.6 million signatures in California and should therefore qualify for the state ballot.  While it is very unlikely that Schultz, or any other such candidate, will be elected president, such efforts make the upcoming election even more interesting.