The Nancy Gambit - a What If...

As partial and unofficial results of today's Senatorial elections have started to trickle in, people will start seeing trends... it matters not if those trends represent less than 1% of the votes. I guess Filipinos love seeing a race, and are curious to see if horses (er... I mean Senators) they've placed their bets (for this nation's future) on will be part of the magic 12. And though it will definitely be premature to declare any sure trend at this juncture, one thing seems to be evident: many people voted for Nancy Binay. Normally, this would not even consider a second look... so what? One might ask, isn't she as qualified as the others? Well... that is the big debate. She has neither political background, nor the seeming resolve to run for the position of being a Senator.

Why do I say this? It's not as if her background is unknown... specifically a glaring lack of having served in any official capacity as a Councilor, Vice-mayor, Mayor or even as a representative of Congress. Nope... none of the above. And yes, despite this, she is still in the leader's circle - whether she can sustain it, we shall see... Then, of course, there was the famous line that got people wondering just how serious or committed she was. You see, in one of the supposed interviews, she did hint at the fact that the decision to run did not even come from her, but from her father... the nation's incumbent Vice-President.

Did she present a platform, at least? None that the media has presented. You see... Nancy's campaign trail can also be cited for her refusal to enter into any 'issues' debate. And if she really did not have any preparation, nor any convincing thought about running, maybe steering clear of any debate was a good idea. After all, it seems that this nation still puts a high premium on image... and not necessarily on intelligence.

But let's get down to the one possible and real reason for Nancy's joining the Senate race.

What If... this were a test for 2016? People might say many things... I'm sure among them will be, it's too early to even think about that. But what if I say, on the contrary... if you're not even thinking of 2016 at this point, you're sure to lose.

The matter wasn't really if Nancy would win or lose... well, if she won, it would be icing on the political cake that is the Binay political machinery. After all, what if this were a test to see how solid the Binay support would be? If any family had the greatest clout right now, I would say it's the Binays. And I don't know if anyone knew this? But Vice President Jejomar had his eyes on the Presdidency as early as 2010 (at least). Why do I say this? Because he has been building his political clout way beyond Makati for some time now.

Think about it... how many Sister-city programs has Makati been a part of... let's not count the City sisterhood pacts abroad (though they too help a bit), but just the ones... most specially the ones in our country's provinces. Through these sister-city memorandum, the local government of Makati would be able to help in their less advanced sister city's development. This in turn, gives VP Binay and his family, political deposits, as the mayors and other officials would be thankful for Makati's help in building/improving their resources and capabilities... be they in knowledge or skills exchange. By virtue of this program, more so when he was still Mayor of Makati, and could relate to his peers in a more direct manner, he gained a lot of Political clout (and what if these included political favors?).

The fact that Binay went this route shows how much of a planner the man is... and more so, how great a political strategist he likewise is. This became the man's grassroot campaign. A campaign that was set up for his use as early as 2010. If this were true, why didn't he run for President in 2010? Hindsight can tell us a lot... but again, without proof, I can only give What If's. Yes he could... and who's to say he wasn't contemplating on it. If he did, he would have faced off against Gibo Teodoro, Manny Villar, Erap Estrada and Mar Roxas. I would speculate that Binay saw this as a crowded race with all candidates having national exposure and political machinery.

What made him decide to go the VP route instead? I could say practicality... of the names mentioned in the list, Erap still seemed the viable popular vote, and despite all his clout, Binay wasn't sure of a win against  the former president. I could also say a form of political payback... specially when it came to supporting the son of the woman who first gave him said position in Mahe inside track, Jojo was one of the first to run for VP - even endorsing Noynoy for President, despite the fact that Mar's Liberal Party was the official party where Noynoy would be running. Of course, I could also say, it was a great political move. A risk? Maybe... but one that got him on the inside track to a more viable position. Did anyone notice how Binay wore the color yellow (a color highly associated with the Aquinos) more than Mar? Chiz Escudero's last minute endorsement not withstanding, Binay had the advantage with a mix of clout, machinery and public sympathy.

Now... forward to the present. With Nancy, think of it as VP Binay flexing his machinery muscles, in preparation for 2016. He is looking at the results quite eagerly. You see, running and winning in Makati would be a shoe-in for any Binay... but a Nationally elected office like the Senate? Now that would be a test indeed with the results telling him where adjustments need to be made for his goal... adjustments he has at least two years to focus on... and with a Senator on his side (he may have more than one, mind you), he can implement - through Nancy, programs that will make the Binay name well remembered come next Presidential election.

Who should he be looking out for? Take a look at the Senatorial results. It would make for a lot more What If analysis.

Blogging on the go... hitches experienced

Yes, I've been trying to blog on the go with Blogger.com and my iPad. Unfortunately, it seems that there is a glitch in the Blogger application when launched in the iPad... specifically, when I'm typing out my blog - and when it gets to be several paragraphs long, I find it difficult to scroll down to the end, so that I can type my next paragraph.

For some reason, and this is what I find frustrating, there is no page down or (go to the) end button, so I can continue typing where I left off. I always end up at the top, and since there is no down button, or end button and there is no scroll bar (to scroll down either), I find myself trying different ways to go down, and when I reach the end - again, for some strange reason, it automatically brings me up to the beginning again. It's utterly frustrating!

Then there's another thing... uploading pictures. It only allows pictures from the blog (meaning those I've used at one time or another), or some that have been uploaded in a webpage... but no allowable way to upload a picture from my iPad library for the first time - oh yeah, it may allow uploading from a smartphone, but not the iPad. So much for wanting to add pictures.

It's mostly because of these two frustrations that I find blogging on the go (meaning using my iPad) frustrating... and greatly limiting. Hence my not going at it full swing. I don't know if I should look for an iPad specific version of the Blogger apps, or just switch to Wordpress or something else.