EDITORIAL - Making the choice of our lives

You guessed it. The latest surveys show Vice President Noli de Castro still leading the hungry pack of presidential wannabes for the 2010 general elections. And while surveys indeed can be manipulated, sheer consistency poses some real danger of influencing the outcome.

The world is in the grip of an economic meltdown that is certain to severely affect weak economies like the Philippines. Officials may be praised for valiantly trying to reassure us of "sound fundamentals" but these ring hollow and weak in light of unassailable evidence.

Next to the economy, the country faces very serious challenges in the areas of foreign policy, national security, and the environment, not to mention local problems such as poverty, insurgency, and crime. And of course there is that other Big C — corruption.

Any Filipino with a brain not addled by politics can see that these are problems and concerns that are beyond the capacity of Noli de Castro to comprehend, much less effectively arrest and solve.

The only thing going for Noli de Castro is unbridled popularity among the unthinking masses, whose main qualification for leadership over the years seems to be the ability to make a personal connection.

In less challenging and demanding times, mere personal appeal may suffice in choosing a leader. In less challenging and demanding times, things take care of their own selves and a nincompoop can sit out his six years provided he does not do anything particularly stupid.

But we live in very challenging and demanding times. Filipinos who are now nearing 100 million cannot afford to take their chances with anyone who simply does not have what it takes to steer us well away from the precipice.

We are not holding an audition for a tv show in 2010, for God's sake. We are electing a president at a time when the whole world is one big mess. The people must take matters into their own hands and seize the initiative away from the politicians.

Remember, politicians are only after their own personal interests. If it is to their personal gain to plunk someone in Malacañang just because he is popular, they will actually do so. That is something we cannot allow for our own sake and for the sake of our children.