"Perfect partners don't exist. Perfect conditions exist for a limited time in which partnerships express themselves best."
Wayne Rooney
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- There should be no more false hopes for supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders as the number of Democratic open primaries is getting smaller, with Sec. Hillary Clinton must now win only 33 percent of remaining delegates to hit the 2,383 magic number as of April 6.
In order to oust Clinton, Sanders must win 67 percent of the remaining delegates.
Clinton now has 1,728 against Sanders' 1,058 (this is the latest count even after Sanders clobbered Clinton in Wisconsin, 57 percent-43 percent).
With the next primary heading to New York (April 19), Clinton's home state, the prospect has become dimmer for Sanders.
Assuming that Clinton clinches the Democratic presidential slot, pollsters have predicted she could put away either Donald Trump (753 delegates) or Ted Cruz (514) of Republican party in the November general election.
SUPPORT
With full support from President Noynoy Aquino, Mar Roxas of the Liberal Party could pull the rug from under PDP Laban's Rodrigo Duterte, Nationalist People's Coalition's Grace Poe, and United Nationalist Alliance's Jejomar Binay.
Because of health problems, Miriam Defensor-Santiago has fallen by the wayside and isn't anymore expected to put up a good fight with barely five weeks to go.
Assuming that Roxas will win on May 9, 2016 and Clinton becomes president after the November 8, 2016 general election, they can work together harmoniously as both the Liberal and Democratic parties almost share the same political ideology and philosophy.
Although LP distances itself from the political extremes on the left and right, it can tune in with the Democrat's modern liberalism.
LANDSCAPE
If Duterte will make it and Trump will upset Clinton, the political landscape will change drastically as both gentlemen are known tough guys determined to wield iron hands to govern their nations.
Duterte has vowed to wipe out criminal elements and feed them to the fishes in the Manila Bay, while Trump has promised to build a wall to prevent Hispanic illegals from crossing the US-Mexico border; round up and yank out overstaying aliens.
Duterte's PDP Laban democratic centrist socialism
and consultative and participative democracy principles will have to sit well with Trump's Republican American conservatism.
SMOOTH
Poe's NPC can work smoothly with the Republican as it is also a conservative party.
Since it is in the right wing, Binay's UNA can engage in a romance with both the Democrat and Republican parties as it also embraces the ideology of conservatism, Filipino nationalism, social conservatism, and populism.
This means that a Binay victory in the Philippines and a Clinton or Trump victory in the United States can't be a case of a round hole in a square peg.
"Peace of mind comes from not wanting to change others."
Gerald Jampolsky
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Until our next president is elected in May 2016, we continue to be a divided nation.
The gaping wounds of hostility and conflict will continue to exacerbate and won't heal for a while, because of cascading passion and emotional bickering brought by heated partisan politics.
Some friendships will suffer--or have already suffered--from mortal blows and may never be repaired again.
Even family members have their own share of hellish moments because they have their respective bets for certain elective positions--the father for Vice President Jejomar Binay because of fraternity ties; the mother for Sec. Mar Roxas because of business attachment; and daughter and son for Grace Poe because of Eat Bulaga and Heart Evangelista.
CHANGE
We can't change the reputation of our leaders and the circumstances that made them famous and infamous--what and where they are now in the periphery of political hierarchy.
But we can change the way we think, how we behave, and how to deal with these leaders or aspirants for higher public office, if given the opportunity to go along with any of them in a real or imagined world.
For instance, if I saunter in the lairs of the underworld, the beasts and the cannibals, I will ask Rodrigo Duterte to accompany me.
If I want to personally meet showbiz characters, ask autograph of Susan Roces, gyrate on noontime shows with Tito, Vic an Joey, and get to know more about sob stories involving foundlings, I want Grace Poe to be on my side.
FREE
If I want to watch free movies in the country's premier city and enjoy other pelf and privileges, dabble in construction business, corner rich contracts without the benefit of a bidding process, enlist as adult commander in the Boys Scouts of the Philippines, and open more than a dozen savings accounts, I will befriend Jejomar Binay.
If I want to have a "selfie" with Korina Sanchez without having to form a beeline in a Quezon City mansion and learn Economics 101, I will ask Mar Roxas to be my guidance counselor.
If I want to meet Superman, Spiderman, Bionicman, Batman and Robin, Wonderwoman, join the Star Wars, and to have a Close Encounter with the Third Kind, I will stay beside Miriam Defensor-Santiago.
After all we are in a free world.
"The greatest risk is really to take no risk at all. You've got to go out there, jump off the cliff, and take chances." Patrick Warburton
By Alex P. Vidal
NEW YORK CITY -- Senate President Franklin Drilon was right when he quipped that rumors he would be running for vice president once DILG chief Mar Roxas was endorsed by President Noynoy Aquino as Liberal Party standard bearer in the 2016 elections, "don't make any political sense."
Since they both belong in Western Visayas, only one of them should be fielded in the race for the land's top two highest positions.
Western Visayas, the third vote rich region in the country, is not the Philippines. Imperial Manila won't take it sitting down if bypassed in the choice of national leaders.
The other candidate must come either from Luzon or Mindanao.
Not all-Visayas. Not all-Luzon. Not all-Mindanao.
The goods must be distributed equally. Everyone should be happy.
Survey topnotcher Grace Poe could be the most logical choice since she is extremely popular in Mindanao, where his late foster father, Fernando Poe Jr., was considered a demigod both in showbiz and politics.
OFFICIAL
It won't hurt the ruling party though if the president will pick Drilon over Roxas, but it looks like the die has been cast and Roxas appears to be a cinch away from clinching the official coronation as LP top bet.
Drilon can deliver the votes for national candidates being the most senior and influential political leader in Panay and Negros islands.
Drilon's only hope though is for the president to raise Poe's hand as a Solomic solution to the impasse.
But his chances for a vice presidential slot remain nil. If Poe would be blessed by the fountain, Roxas logically could end up as her runningmate.
Although he lagged behind in the surveys, Roxas' stock is expected to boost once he is officially endorsed by the president.
Since President Aquino is still enjoying a substantial popularity among members of the hoi polloi, the middle class and the elite, his endorsement of Roxas can't be considered yet as a kiss of death.
Endorsement by a popular leader, however, is very much different from the candidate's winnability.
APPLAUD
People may applaud the president's endorsement, but it's another story if they will vote for the endorsed candidate.
Winnability is still a major factor. And Roxas appears to be deficient in charisma and acceptability needed to bag the highest office, if we based only the surveys.
But with full support from the administration, the ballgame might tilt and shake a bit.
The lead in the surveys enjoyed by Poe and Vice President Jejomar Binay might suffer a major cut once government resources start to roll down the far flung areas in aid of the chosen candidate from Capiz.
Roxas, however, can't rely heavily on government wherewithal. He has a lot of catching up to do and the major roadwork is in his province in Capiz, his bailiwick with a polarized political landscape.
As a dark horse, Davao City Mayor Rudy Duterte may continue to post as a big threat to any candidate chosen by the president and the opposition.
If no alliances and bandwagon will be formed to reduce the number of presidentiables, it would still be the administration and opposition candidates who will slug it out and elbow each other in the finish line.
