Changing horses in midstream

Friends were telling me why am I opposed to the President stepping down and have a new leader.

Well, they want her to do a Thaksin which local political leaders like Gov. Joseph Marañon and Mayor Bing Leonardia oppose. They are correct. There is a saying, don't swap horses in midstream. This term came from the speech of U.S. President Abraham Lincoln when he ran for president the second time.

The U.S. was facing a crisis. The Civil War had just been concluded in 1865 and there were many Republicans who were not satisfied with the way Lincoln handled the war.

Many wanted to nominate another candidate for the presidency to replace Lincoln. So, Lincoln addressing the delegates on June 9, 1864 said changing leaders at the height of a crisis is not good.

And that was when, he said, "Don't swap horses while in midstream."

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This was also used in the case of another U.S. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Roosevelt was first elected in 1932 and held office in 1933. He won his re-election in 1936 and, if U.S. Constitution were to be followed, he could not serve any more as President.

But World War II broke out when his second term ended in 1940. So, he was made to run again and won because the American people did not want to change horses while in mid-stream.

But, World War II did not end yet. So, Roosevelt was reelected for his fourth term in 1944 but died in 1945.

The Americans did not change their horse in mid-stream.

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Let us not change our horse in mid-stream also. Let the crisis be over. Let us have a parliamentary system of government. And then, by that time, we can change our horse in mid-stream, if we want to.

Anyway they do not have a horse in mind to change GMA with.

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I received a lengthy faxed letter from my favorite independent-minded Councilor Lyndon Caña Wednesday evening when I dropped by at DAILY STAR.

Had I received it earlier I could have commented on it and it could have been timely for the council session yesterday afternoon.

Anyway, one point Lyndon complained about the dictatorial tendency of the majority in the city council, on the issue of Bredco takeover.

Lyndon complained of his fellow councilors who didn't give him and his minority group a chance to explain their side of the takeover.

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We cannot teach the councilors what to do. That is their prerogative to do what pleases them.

In the council, as in Congress, it is always the game of numbers and Lyndon suffered the numerical tyranny.

Why didn't they just allow Lyndon to say his piece and the council can just say, "Noted."

What I can say is, no one should underestimate Lyndon's capacity to stick to an issue and see it through.

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The Cha-Cha Train is really roaring fast. Now, the topic is who will be the prime minister? Although he has the hold on Congressmen, many believe Speaker Jose de Venecia is not a shoo-in.

There were many names floated like Senators Mar Roxas, Manuel Villar, Aquilino Pimentel, Jr. and Edgardo Angara, aside from de Venecia. These were the names floated by House Majority Floor Leader Prospero Nograles. All those mentioned are very capable people. And there is no problem if one does not perform well. He can just be changed like what Thailand did with its Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

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Don't forget when we become a parliamentary government, the local set-up will also be changed. The city will be divided into districts. Each district to vote for a councilor. The councilors will elect the mayor among themselves.

And it will be like that of the national government. A leader does not have to be very popular like radio or media people with enough exposure to win because he runs just in a district.

And if he is good, the councilors can elect him the mayor.

I think they just follow the setup in Britain or even in the U.S. In the U.S. the mayor is chosen among the councilors.

This will be more flexible and more effective.

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If we succeed in making our government a parliament, we owe it to President Arroyo who has turned out to be a strong president. Former presidents, even if they wanted to, never made it.*

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