Think about it
Why Barack Obama won?
By Jun Velasco
“Cromwell, I charge thee, fling away ambitions,
By that sin fell the angels; how can a man then,
The image of his Maker, hope to profit by’t?” — Shakespeare
IN spite of many US-based Fil-Ams’ plugs for Gov. Mitt Romney, we politely told them through this column and the internet that what turned the tables for Barack Obama was the entry of Bill Clinton in the campaign.
Up to now, Democrats continue to be charmed by Lewinsky’s boyfriend forgetting that Bill is just being a smart power player who must have struck a deal with President Obama for Hillary in 2016.
Smart kid, but, sorry, Fil-Ams, we are basically pro-Democrat whose main program is the alleviation of Third World countries like the Philippines. But we can’t blame their rooting for a Republican amidst the economic woes that have besieged Obama’s presidency.
With Clinton’s sugary rhetoric, the ballyhooed letdown has begun to look rosy, promising and hopeful, which, to them, is better than Romney’s unknowable promise. The tried is better than the untried, they say.
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Dagupan politics has taken a turn for the ugly in the campaign, with both camps accusing each other of importing voters from the neighboring towns in the recent Comelec registration.
This is unfortunate. It exposes our politician’s low, unChristian and criminal instincts that render them unfit to govern.
President Noynoy’s Daang Matuwid should clamp down on the Comelec whose shining image nationally is being stained locally.
With an alert media and eagle-eyed watchers from both camps, it should not be difficult to catch the promoters and operators of the fraudulent voters registration.
We really have a lot to learn from the Americans. The local kontravidas in the election are ensuring our failure as a democracy.
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Over a cup of coffee (thank you, Judge Vic Llamas), we came to know that the Philippine Jaycees Inc. headed by Dagupan Sanggunian Secretary Ryan Ravanzo as its national president has adopted a very appropriate and timely slogan, “Inspire the Nation.”
We told Ryan that their national slogan should awaken most JCP local chapters which have deteriorated and seem to have lost their mandate as training grounds of young leaders 40 years and below.
When we were young we took politics’ divisive challenge as an exciting game of skill so long as it is played within the parameters of fair play – no deceit, no fraud, no below-the-belt schemes and no undue pressure.
But the rules of the game have changed with the appearance of Nicolo Machiavelli and Ferdinand Marcos in the political scene. The latter’s philosophy has ”there’s no substitute for victory” has damaged our political culture no end.
It’s this political metamorphosis that drove us away from it except to act as a detached commentator. We may enjoy its exciting twists and turns but our hoped-for ideal is for politics to stay as a vehicle for reform and progress. Not as an instrument of enmity and hate.
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In the provincial scene, the new regional award given at this time by the DILG to the provincial administration is virtually an endorsement for its continuity.
For this reason, the local opposition is engaged in digging dirt everywhere to cripple it before reaching election day. What a way to win!
For his part, the popularity of former PNP Director General Arturo Lomibao is partly being linked with his former mistah, former PNP Director Amado T. Espino, Jr.
In spite of his track record as mayor, former congressman and Cabinet member, challenger Nani Braganza knows that he is facing an uphill battle.
His is a battle cry of promise against Espino’s performance.
Although “Maximo V. Soliven’s The Man and the Journalist” is a 396-page biography, we finished reading it in one sitting.
Written by our friend Nelson A. Navarro of the Oscar Orbos Fans Club, the book is not only about the foremost Filipino Journalist but the story of Philippine Journalism at its best. We’ve had a number of meetings with the late Max, a good friend of The Sunday Punch founder Ermin Garcia Sr., — the longest time at the office of then Duty Free Philippines GM Benjie Lim (am not sure if he is the Dagupan mayor running for re-election).
Sir Max has never been arrogant, but because of his know-it-all wit and style, he is often dubbed as one. In real life, he was very humble. He was sartorial and always smoking his pipe. If you are a journalist or ardent observer of the national scene, it’s a must that you have a copy of the book.
It’s like a movie, full of action, drama and the rise and fall and rise of the Philippines as seen by a brilliant and great journalist.
