I was watching the Texas debate between Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton, and could not help but feel a deep sense of frustration upon comparing our method of choosing our leaders with that of the Americans. Both Obama and Clinton have all the qualifications to be great leaders, apparently, both have the funds and the machinery to launch a bid a the presidency, yet there they were, duking it out in a debate this country has yet to see as part of our process of selecting our leaders, as they tried to convince the Democrats to choose them to be the party’s candidate for president.

In this country, Obama and Clinton, as well as McCain, Guliani, and every other Tom, Dick and Harry wouldn’t have to go through the primaries and caucuses. All they have to do this throw their hats into the ring and they immediately become bets for president. They don’t even have to be able to debate, or have any kind of public service record. All they have to be is “winnable”, or at the very least, prove that they are Filipino citizens.

In the Texas debates, Democrats Obama and Clinton, who profess to agree on 95 percent  of the issues they are confronted with, still picked each other apart on that measly 5 percent. They launched into intelligent discussions, the kind that would give their voters an idea into what kind of people they were going to throw their support behind. They sometimes got dirty and personal, but what can you expect from politicians? At least they talked about issues instead of simply breaking into song and the latest incarnation of whatever dance step had become popular among toddlers during the time of the campaign.

Hillary and Barack were almost shoulder-to-shoulder as they engaged in a lively debate on issues that were supposed to be pivotal in their bid for the presidency. Here in the Philippines, you cannot even put political rivals in the same room without expecting inane shouting matches or even boxing bouts between the protagonists or their supporters.

No wonder Americans hardly ever impeach their leaders or resort to people power. This is because they practice their people power during the selection process instead of during the overthrowing process. Americans involve themselves in the process during the caucuses and primaries, and then involve themselves again during the actual elections, after their party has chosen their candidates.

Take for example George W. Bush, who will go down in history as one of the most inept presidents of the United States of America: he should have been removed from office by extraordinary means a long time ago because it was pretty obvious that the was as good for his country as a hole in the head, but maybe because of shrewd political maneuvering or because of his being able to emerge from the ultra-tough screening process for presidentiables as the anointed one of his party, he will get to finish his term in office without having to contend with various forms of people power. He didn’t even have to bastardize the impeachment process by having his allies file sham impeachment raps against him to inoculate himself from the real thing.

It is said that we get the leaders that we deserve. During the last presidential elections a lot of us chose to vote for the “lesser evil” because of the lack of qualified choices, and it turns out that we were partially right, because we were just one word away from being right, as the sitting president is now being called evil (as well as a bitch), and nobody except for her rah-rah boys is complaining. But the choice between evil and stupid should never be the one we have to make when it comes to choosing the people who will lead this nation. We should be choosing among the best. The best minds, the best morals, the most integrity.

If we do get to vote for the next president of this country by 2010, then something must be done right now to make sure that the disenchantment does not continue. We have seen a stupid president get caught and convicted with plunder. We are now seeing a smart president treat the people of this country as gullible fools apparently by peddling outright lies and shamelessly using the power of the state to prosecute whistleblowers and at the same time condone state-sponsored thievery. Another idiot, another thief, another morally bankrupt president will be strike three.

Although we the people do the voting, the burden ultimately lies with the political clans that have been holding this country hostage for generations. The old guard can still leave a grand legacy by righting the chronic wrongs that they have tolerated and allowed to flourish, while the so called new blood can live up to their hype by introducing genuine change. All of this will naturally entail a lot of sacrifice, but if they are truly as concerned for this country as they claim during campaign sorties and public appearances, then their position demands that they have to be the first to make that sacrifice.