Style without Substance

The recent SWS survey that showed dwindling support for Noy Aquino is heartening in that it restores faith in a discerning voting public.

A candidacy that relied on the momentum of yellow fever, vague promises for change, and little else had proven to be a winning formula – at least at the outset of Noy’s declaration of his intent to run for the highest post in the land.

Then there is the tactless, utterly inappropriate celebrity sister Kris Aquino. Fancying herself as a gatekeeper to Noy, she is the consummate influence peddler. Kris made it clear early on that she is not above any tactic to shore up support for her brother. Using ABS-CBN (nowadays called ABiaS-CBN by critics) as her soapbox, she rallies (or, rather, arm-twists) for the support of stars – led by the talents of the hapless Boy Abunda, who needs to please Kris lest she leaves his fold).

The demolition job for obstacles to a Noynoy presidency is earnestly taken on by other equally shady characters such as the Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Conrado de Quiroz – who once ranted about the plight of the hapless Hacienda Luisita workers oppressed by the Cojuangco family, then did an about face; and Ted Failon, another man not above using his show for personal vendettas.

According to an Issues and Advocacy Center poll, Noy’s lead “significantly dropped” to a mere seven percentage points over Sen. Manny Villar even as administration candidate Gibo Teodoro has surged.

In an interview with the Manila Standard Today, Center director Ed Malay “described Aquino’s 31-percent rating as a ‘stationary dive’ even as he continued to lead the survey.”

Malay continued that the presidential debates were “most harmful” to Noynoy because “they exposed his weakness and lack of depth on the basic issues,” and described the once substantial lead as “a myth and the bubble” anchored on the sympathy generated by the death of former President Cory Aquino.

Clearly, his much-ballyhooed MTV and spin doctors could not sustain the illusion that Noynoy knows what he’s getting into, and that he is more than capable of leading the country.

For a man who has never known the mantle of leadership and has been the epitome of indecisiveness (he can’t even decide to marry at his advanced age!), Noy and his handlers can only take the spin so far.

For beyond sharing his parents’ name, Noy is not much else. He always reverts to lackluster form – like in that famous photo him dozing off in a presidential forum.

The product is, indeed, not all it’s cracked up to be.