Why the Villarroyo rumor makes sense ZOOMING IN Rudy Romero 02/19/2010

Why the Villarroyo rumor makes sense ZOOMING IN Rudy Romero 02/19/2010 It has long been conventional wisdom that an outgoing Chief Executive with a record of service as controversial and as tarnished as Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo’s, will likely hedge his or her bets by entering into a secret partnership with one of the promising opposition candidates. The need to hedge is in inverse relation to the strength of the administration bet’s candidacy; the weaker the victory prospects of the administration candidate, the greater the need to engage in hedging. Arroyo is finding it necessary to embed — the verb that became famous with the second US invasion of Iraq — herself with one of the leading opposition candidates because of the weakness of the candidacy of the administration candidate, Gilbert Teodoro Jr.  Gibo Teodoro is the weakest candidate in what is turning out to be a four-candidate contest. He remains a distant fourth-placer in the opinion surveys. His rating has not risen above 5 percent since he became the standard-bearer of the Lakas-Kampi party, and, given the strengths of his three principal adversaries — Sen. Benigno Aquino III of the Liberal Party (LP), Sen. Manuel Villar Jr. of the Nacionalista Party (NP) and former President Joseph Estrada of the Pwersa ng Masang Pilipino (PMP) — and his personal and political deficiencies, the rating is likely to stay at around that level.... MORE Source:  The Daily Tribune ALTERNATE URL: http://www.classicposters.com/commentary/20100219com3.html

COMMENTARY EDITORIAL Rebels scorned FRONTLINE Political missteps ZOOMING IN Why the Villarroyo rumor makes sense NO HOLDS BARRED The insecurity is showing FEATURE Sophie Theallet celebrates femininity, Vera Wang sees black DIE HARD III ‘If thoughts could kill…’ FEATURE In Zimbabwe, morning chores mean good news