No Ability = Winnability

March 28, 2013

by Gogs

Einstein is often credited with the saying Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. Einstein also said we can not solve our problems with the same thinking that created them. Both quotes play in nicely to my topic today boys and girls. Ever notice every single politician running for office promises you improvement. There is not one who will tell you that things will stay the same if you elect them. Yet how come none of them show any originality? Very few of them even show ability. People when they can will anchor their image to an older relative living or dead  even if it has nothing to do with governing and leading. Innovation is a word most of our voters can’t spell let alone look for. Our voters do not value people who can think. They just value the familiar. Dealing with the familiar minimizes evaluations and forecasting. It also minimizes improvement.

Grace Poe does not even try to hide the fact that the FPJ name is her biggest asset. She can’t even accredit her potential to lead and govern to genes. If this was a proper court of law and Grace was accused of being serious about being a viable candidate the case would be thrown out for lack of evidence. What she is really saying (and as Johnny Saint said makes her identical to Nancy Binay) is I have never done anything worth talking about. Nothing. BTW this is my adopted dad. That should solve everything. I wonder where her campaigners got that idea? Let’s see, no record of accomplishment, famous parent(s), running for office ohhh a certain follicle challenged, relationship challenged, tact challenged person comes to mind. It just so happens the same person really has no history of answering challenges.

The Filipino does not value originality. They value attention. Obvious examples come to mind like Manny Pangilinan and Senator Sotto. Let’s take two areas outside of big business and politics. Mars Revalo is beloved by pinoys if prime time shows and Metro Manila Film Festival entries based on his “creations” are an indicator. Mr. Revalo simply ripped off Charles Moulton and Jack Cole. You can even read this rant.

I have no idea why people think Arnel Pineda is a big deal. Those songs that people consider “his hits” were hits with the same people and Steve Perry decades before YouTube was invented. In case you did not know Arnel Pineda was discovered on Youtube. There is a certain ceiling to your street cred if you are just an Elvis impersonator. Arnel Pineda may be the best Steve Perry impersonator in the world but that is all he is. An impersonator. Which oddly rhymes with it’s antonym “innovator”. An impersonator can be defined as somebody who does not bring anything new to the table. They just walk over the path already blazed. My more detailed thoughts here. Emulation is valued in the Philippines not innovation. You see it in comics , you see it in music and you see it in politics.

Noynoy Aquino in fifty years had nothing to hang his hat on. His mother died in 2009 and he took out a surfboard and rode the wave of public sympathy into Malacanang. That is the kind of voting public we are dealing with. No ability = winnability. In this day and age when so much information is available on a smart phone, the local voters demand even less information to make a voting decision. Invoke your parents name or wear similar colors, hair and glasses to a local icon then go run for office.

The argument for Noynoy was always that “he is good”. Excuse me … good at what exactly?? Noynoy can provide the illusion that he is good because he has never really had his uniform dirty one way or the other. The argument that he is good makes as much sense as pointing to the 12th man on your basketball team and saying “He is good! He has no turnovers.” He has no turnovers because he does not have assists either. So to put it bluntly Noynoy when he ran in 2010 could not point to an Isiah Thomas or Bob Cousy type performance on the floor so what does he do to campaign? He poses. He poses as a tough cop. He poses as a faithful son. He tells you what he is going to do but does not point to any kind of highlight film to make his case credible. So to get your mind off the lack of ability he will use motherhood statements like destiny and emulate symbols associated with his mom and dad. Guess what?? Noynoy’s method worked in 2010.  So it paves the way for Grace and Nancy in 2013.

So Noynoy Is In The Headlines But Is This Necessarily Work?

I cannot for the life of me comprehend somebody who bought the Noynoy act in 2010  be annoyed by the methods and manner of the Nancy/ Grace campaigns in 2013. Noynoy Aquino, President Cory’s Only Son (PCOS) made all this possible. Postscript on Noynoy’s posing act. Look at the last month, he did horribly in the territorial claim issue where leadership and negotiation skill would have come in handy. On the other hand he seems more at home in the campaign trail and now “The Malacanang Pre Easter AIDS tour. ” where very little can really go wrong for him. There is no metaphorical live ammo. There are photo opportunities and public relations events and then there are duties a true national leader has to perform. AIDS in this context as defined by the Urban Dictionary “As  If Doing Something.”

One adjective you can never put on him is efficient. Because to put it bluntly someone or something has to work first before being described as efficient. More on that here. An important part of leadership is delegation. Back when I was trying to establish a previous business what was instilled in us was as leaders was don’t work in your business, work on your business.  A leader is in charge of the strategic direction of the organization which in this case is the country. Day to day functions like safety inspections should be performed by people hired for that function. It is the job of the president to work on government and the country not to put up some facade that he is working.

Bam you already have the name must you copy the look?

As far as I know Noynoy Aquino is not the country’s foremost expert in terrorism prevention so that is one strike against him personally inspecting the different terminals. A true leader understands delegation. No word yet on what I believe Noynoy Aquino to be. Another strike is all the baggage he takes with him. Baggage that we tax payers are paying for. You all know of a story that happened in October involving said baggage. Malacanang has not confirmed or denied their involvement. The president’s presence in an upscale restaurant is already obtrusive. The staff allegedly resorted to threats as a result of the president being there. So explain to me why is it a good idea to have Noynoy and his baggage inspect terminals during what amounts to our peak travel times? It is bad enough the president seems inefficient with his time but this decision for a glorified photo opportunity will most likely make the inspected terminals less efficient during a busy time. Does anybody out there think that is a wise allocation of resources? You voted him in ladies and gentlemen.

John McEnroe was once asked why his kids did not excel in tennis like he did and his answer was “affluenza”. He said kids in the UK and the US have it too easy. What he means by that is that trials and hardship fuel your competitive fire. This only proves world class tennis is a much more worthy arena of skill and work ethic compared to pinoy politics. The people who do not value accomplishment and competition are weeded out in sports regardless of their last name. In pinoy politics the practice works in reverse. Nepotism and gaya gaya are prerequisites to running for office.”Oh so I know you dad?, I won’t bother looking at what you have actually done if anything”. There you go, that’s how you get President Noynoy.

Erap was cited in a previous GRP post as providing the template to transition from “acting” to public office. Noynoy Aquino it seems has provided Grace Poe the template to pole vault over a dead parent’s corpse into an elected position. The guy has been dead over eight years. If memory serves, my memory served more than he did. I don’t think he logged in a second of public service. Which begs the question what did FPJ start that Grace is supposed to be continuing? If FPJ did not start anything then is Grace going to perpetuate that nothing if elected?

Take a look at this Grace campaign banner

and this one.

Look at the three faces here. Grace, FPJ and Susan. Does it scream good governance for you? If so why? Neither of the three ever proved anything. I have no idea why more pinoys are not turned off by what is turning into SOP during election time. Exploiting the memory of a dead relative in order to achieve public office.

Here is what inspired it. If you can indeed call it inspiration.

In the words of Journey “Some day love will find you”.

The thing is, it worked in 2010 why not in 2013 for Grace? Blank resume? Not articulate? That’s OK, just resort to macabre or morbid epalism. FPJ in 2004 was as allergic to debates as Noynoy was in 2010. That will work in the Philippines. It’s never about the issues or the capacity to tackle the issues. No need to prove your stance on the issues.  It’s always about family. Family values has questionable relevance in this country as far as picking the best qualified political candidate is concerned. If the Grace ploy works in 2013 it is absolute proof we are getting dumber and it will get worse in 2016. I remember the good old days of 2003 when it was first mentioned that FPJ would run for office and on his agenda was to pardon Erap. I remember hearing that and I really thought it was a joke. I soon found out to quote Robin Gibb “but the joke was on me“.

Noynoy, Nancy and Grace. What do they have in common? Pinoys respond to  Inherit instead of earn. The Filipino rarely discerns when it comes to their politicians. That’s why the baduy vote is so important. Capture the baduy vote with bells, whistles, colors, famous dead relatives, vague slogans, corny jingles, artistas. You vote in Nancy, Bam, Jackie and Grace you will just be electing mini Noynoys. Pride, dignity and good judgement just get in the way of a victory in a Filipino election. Proud to be Pinoy!!!!

If there is a common theme in my posts , it’s that I don’t blame Noynoy and Grace entirely. For me it takes two to tango. I know of a Wharton candidate who bought into Cory in the 80s and had that affection carry over into Noynoy. Wharton graduates it seems are not exempt from buying emotionally and trying to defend logically. It was he/ she who gave me the idea for the song Its Noy or Never. The strategists know they are not attracting the Einstein vote. No innovation necessary. Just ride on dead daddy’s coattails. That’s the Filipino voter for you. Proud to be Pinoy!

Aerosmith I hear is coming to Manila in May. I hope they do their song that speaks so loudly to the Filipino expectations, aspirations and condition: Same Old Song and Dance.

Thank you to the Facebook Group Boycott All Showbiz Personalities in the Government for some of the pics.