Reform and change: The lies committed in their name

In a country that requires only citizenship, maturity and the ability to read and write for anyone to qualify as a candidate for president, then I grudgingly submit Noynoy Aquino has met the threshold skills and circumstances to aspire for the highest office in the land.

By the same token, let us not be aghast then at the prospect of such personalities as Willie Revillame seeking public office. We have done it before so let us keep on doing it over and over again. Besides, what is good enough for Noynoy should be good enough for Willie.

Of course, there are those pushing the candidacy of Noynoy who find in the fact that he is the son of Ninoy and Cory Aquino their great compelling reason to trust in his capabilities as a leader. What a pathetic justification for a momentous event like handover of power.

If leadership were only as simple as that, then not only Noynoy should run but the rest of the Aquino brood. Perhaps a law should be made that only those descended from Ninoy and Cory should ever be invested with the right to lead this nation.

But you and I know that should not be the case. In fact it is never the case. You and I know the people behind Noynoy do not really believe in such nonsense as genetically-ordained leadership. The people behind Noynoy are merely using his genes to ensure their own gains.

The greatest proof that Noynoy is unqualified to lead this nation is his utter failure to realize he is just being used. A man unaware of his own limitations but readily believes the glowing tales spun by people of his supposed abilities is a walking disaster waiting to happen.

When Noynoy and his running mate Mar Roxas stumped Davao last week, they and their supporters were bubbling in the tv footages about how the "enthusiastic welcome" suggest the people's clamor for reform and change.

If there is anybody who is shortchanging everyone about reform and change, it is this tandem. What reform and change are Noynoy and Mar talking about when, by their very words and actions, it is very evident they are hewing closely to good old traditional politics?

Again, we are not begrudging them their right to run for any position under the sun because they have met the minimum requirements this nation demands of political aspirants. But can they not at least be honest and not take the rest of us for suckers?

It is a great disservice to the English language, and to the billions of people the world over who speak it, the way Noynoy and Mar have unilaterally carpentered new meanings for the words reform and change.

   By constantly mouthing reform and change and then talking and acting like the same old jaded traditional politicians, Noynoy and Mar have made it clear that the new meaning of reform and change is static and sameness.

   In fact, other than an overdose of motherhood statements, there is an abject shortage of platform and specifics that could have elevated the great political debate into something resembling an intelligent exchange.

But they would rather not. To do so runs the serious risk of being exposed as a great nothingness. It is better to pander to the general discontent and exploit the emotional state with the kind of discourse good only in the delivery but not in reality.

Part of the reason President Arroyo is unpopular is not the swirl of corruption around her but the facility and gainful convenience of accusing her of the crime. Reputation is always bigger than the person and a fad is always more sweeping than then its cause.

Believe it or not, the careers of some young politicians were made not because of some clear manifestation of talent or intelligence but by simply attacking the president day and night. That is the same path Noynoy is taking. And some of us are willing to be suckers.