Presidential Fitness: A revelation of how "fit" prexy bets are

If the 2010 presidential race is just a marathon, the most obvious winner is Cheez Escudero. He's young. He's athletic. And he exercises a lot.

Escudero enjoys wide support coming from a cross-section of society. Right now, he's the strongest contender among the presidentiables. Heard from a good friend from the State department that Escudero already "secured" assurances from certain officials in Washington of support; yet, these remains to be seen.

Escudero, like Teodoro, has the full backing of Western powers, coffee shop habitues whisper. That explains why Escudero right now is touring US-aligned countries, like Australia, not just courting their support; but more importantly, widening his diplomatic networks in preparation for that "big job" at the palace.

News that I heard say that foreign governments requested Escudero to visit their countries since his name was never mentioned before nor has he even registered as a contending force for the top post.

How about the other presidentiables? Obviously, there's a concern.

Joseph "Erap" Estrada has a knee injury and is considered "obese". By obese, he's prone to illnesses. Yet, he has now barn stormed most of Luzon, the Visayas and now, Mindanao. Despite his hefty physique and obvious beer belly, it's amazing how he manage to survive the stresses of these "Pasasalamat" sorties.

His health is the least of Erap's worries since he needs to attend to two more important things--his relationship with the Chinese community and that strained one with the State department.

Two things going against an Erap repeat---the constitutional infirmity which the Supreme Court is wont to resolve in his favor; and the obvious displeasure of the State department of another "destabilized" Philippine situation under Erap.

Manny Villar, as one close adviser say, is sick. This explains why Villar has not been seen roaming the country lately. Some say he's into medication; but for what, has not been explained.

A Villar presidential bid will, in all certainty, fail. Yes, he has the monies. Yes, he probably has the machinery. Yet, his weak physique and the confused state of his own political party especially his own internal campaign organization would succumb to the pressures and stresses of a full national campaign.

The most obvious direction to take for Villar is gun for a vice presidential post, either with Roxas or, remain as a presidential candidate with Legarda as his running mate.

Loren Legarda, meanwhile, remains a tireless campaigner, second to Erap. She's been roaming around the country, attending even funerals and festivals. Yet, the most obvious question is--would all these efforts be put to waste if she fails to clinch the NPC nomination? She appears strong and willing; yet, there are forces within her own party who wants nothing of her. She does'nt have a big campaign kitty. And she's on the verge of losing the NPC nomination because certain quarters want to ease her out.

Mar Roxas' campaign, so far, has reached an unsurmountable blank wall. Despite the ingenuity and creativity of his PR and Marketing staff, Roxas' ratings have plateaued. Why? I think Roxas suffered what I call the "early announcement" syndrome.

What do you expect from announcing your candidacy early on? Gravity is a universal law. It affects even survey ratings.

First, your every move, would be subject to suspicion. People will tag your every press release as "political" and obviously, all campaigns that you'll do will, again, enjoy that suspicion of being "political" and "self-serving".

Second, there's nothing of interest to talk about Roxas right now, like what's happening to Gordon and Bayani Fernando. Interestingly, despite attempts by Roxas to distance himself from "trapos", he's still lumped together with them. People have not dis-associated Roxas from trapos simply because

Lastly, there's Noli de Castro.

Yes, Noli is popular. Yes, Noli's name has a 97% recall among voters. But, if you look at his campaign, it's neither here nor there.

Pitted against Estrada for example, Noli could very well lose the fight. He does'nt have any money going into a national campaign and his campaign does'nt seem to have a recall or even a feedback from voters. Noli is being likened to Erap; hence, there seems to have that disdained look from middle class voters.

So, given this long backdrop, that explains why many people consider Defense secretary Gilbert Teodoro as a "blackhorse".

Yet, it remains to be seen whether Teodoro's announcement has registered in the minds of the voters and if the people would consider him as a "viable" choice as president.

Aside from this, Teodoro is the most sickly of all the presidentiables. He has asthma. He's under medication too, like Villar. It's doubtful whether he can survive the gruelling campaign trail. With this heat, Teodoro's lungs might not be able to cope with the stresses.