EDITORIAL – Wishful thinking?

It’s been just four months since President Arroyo announced she was not running in the 2004 elections. The announcement drew applause even from her supporters who, while disappointed that she would not serve beyond three years, acknowledged her main point: her expected candidacy in 2004 was a key reason for continuing instability in the country.

Even back then, however, there were already skeptics who scoffed that the President would eventually change her mind and announce at the last minute that she would seek a six-year term. This perception has grown in recent weeks, thanks to the President’s underlings and — if some reports are accurate — her husband himself. If the President does not shut them up, by Holy Week everyone will believe she’s still very much in the running for the 2004 race. And no amount of denial will ever make the public believe her again.

Since making her dramatic announcement, the President and her handlers have been busy trying to persuade skeptics about her sincerity. Now here comes adviser on the peace process Norberto Gonzales admitting last week that he and other supporters of the President were hoping she would still change her mind about 2004. Gonzales gets an A for candor, but the effects of his wishful thinking could be disastrous for his boss.

Gonzales is not the first to disclose his wish. Trade and Industry Secretary Mar Roxas had earlier declared the same sentiment. And with so many stories about First Gentleman Mike Arroyo working to make the President change her mind, it’s hard not to believe something is afoot.

The question is whether those close to the President are merely expressing a wish or are actively moving to lay the groundwork for her candidacy in 2004. And so we find ourselves, even in the middle of a pre-emptive US-led strike in Iraq, embroiled in divisive political debate, with the President’s every move suspected to be part of preparations for her 2004 campaign. Last December the President had noted how destructive this divisiveness could be. She should remind her underlings about it and give them a stern warning to keep their mouths shut.