A dirty path to the presidency
Whether to the White House or to Malacanang, the path to the presidency this year has been extremely rough and muddy. Politics has always been a dirty business, but this year has been one of the worst in recent memory.
In our homeland, the Republic of the Philippines, a successor to President Benigno Aquino III will be elected in a few months. Although there are five candidates, only four are considered as having an even chance of making it.
Much will depend on how the four – Grace Poe, Mar Roxas, Jejomar Binay and Rodrigo Duterte – handle the accusations that are thrown their way. Many are false and libellous to say the least, but Philippine media covers them anyway.
Of the four, Duterte has been the most vicious in his personal attacks, specifically aimed at Roxas, although he has also thrown insults at Poe’s way in the past. Duterte has been oddly quiet where Binay is concerned, despite the fact that the most serious allegation of plunder has been levelled at the vice president.
Some weeks ago, Duterte said he would slap Roxas if he ever ran into the Liberal Party bet due to some imagined slight. Then more recently he took the lowest potshot imaginable, daring Roxas to prove that he was circumcised.
Such insults are befitting high school sophomores egging for a fist fight. It is most unbecoming when hurled by a serious contender for the Philippine presidency.
To most Americans, the insult may not mean much. But to the Filipino male, it is an affront that cannot be taken lightly. Being circumcised is a big deal among Filipinos. A high school sophomore thus challenged will usually pull down his pants to disprove the insult. But what was poor Mar Roxas to do?
If he had paid attention to the Duterte insult and showed his manhood to media, even to a select few, he would have been the laughing stock of global politics. To ignore the canard, however, leaves the door open for continued insults against his manhood by the Davao City mayor, who openly flaunts his womanizing ways.
Roxas took the best route possible by saying he did not have time for such nonsense.
If Philippine politics has sunk to new lows of late, US politics is not far behind. This week, Donald Trump threatened to sue Ted Cruz, whom the business-magnate-cum-reality-TV-star has called a flat out liar. It doesn’t take much to get Trump’s goat, but in the case of his former friend, the anger appears quite genuine. Cruz had previously been found to have resorted to underhanded tactics where another candidate, Ben Carson, is concerned.
To think that none of them are the official candidate of the Republican Party for the presidential elections this year, at least not yet. It is sad to note that personal insults have taken the place of animated discussions on issues.
At least the two remaining Democrats vying to be their party’s official candidate – Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders – have been generally civil towards each other.
By year’s end, the Philippines and the US will have elected a new president. Hopefully, the winners in both countries will come out on top with his or her reputation unscathed.