The Cabinet members, advisers and whiz kids of the Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo Administration and all the Filipino politicians seeking to replace her when her term ends in 2010 should read the May 14, 2007, issue of the Newsweek magazine. 

In particular, the Filipino national leaders and their staff should pay close attention to the last paragraph of the “The Truman Primary,” as written by Evan Thomas of Newsweek: 

QUOTE. What looks like courage in a politician may just be posturing or cold calculation. But at the same time, real courage is not worth much if it is unaccompanied by judgment and realism. George W. Bush may have thought he was following in the footsteps of Winston Churchill when he ordered the invasion of Iraq. But when things quickly turned sour, his show of resolve began to seem more foolhardy than wise. In the NEWSWEEK Poll, when asked about Bush's recent actions in Iraq, 30 percent saw them as a sign of political courage. But twice as many—62 percent—interpreted Bush's stay-the-course plan in Iraq as stubbornness. Courage is also about learning from—and facing up to—your mistakes. UNQUOTE.

Perhaps the incumbent Philippine President and all those who want to succeed her may learn a lesson from Harry Truman about what it takes to be judged kindly by history.

In the final analysis, all leaders – Filipino, American or other wise – must think of the supposed difference between a politician and a statesman. The classical definition of both terms: A politician is a person who thinks only of the next election. A statesman is an individual who thinks primarily of the next and succeeding generations.

We will start with this article a new thread under the “Politics” Section of this online magazine. We will call it the “Philippine Presidency.” We will print in this new section the updated versions of my articles previously printed in several Filipino-American online and hardcopy publications like “Even Presidents Write their Own Eulogy.” Or “The Presidency Is Serious Business.” And stories about the Philippine Presidents, especially those who have passed away.

It our hope that readers and the Filipino people and foreign friends of the Philippines will contribute articles and/or comments to this new thread so that when the next Philippine presidential campaign begins in less than 32 months from now, the Filipino people can choose wisely their next Chief Executive. # # # 

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