Barack Obama is tired

Just after a year in office, US president Barack Obama admits that he's already tired. And its showing in all his new photos. Surprising for the youngest American president? Not exactly.

The US presidency is not your typical kind of job. Yes, its the most powerful and yes, its also the most stressful. Imagine yourself dealing with petro-billionaires now and talking with pet owners the next, who would not be tired?

And he's on his 10th state visit. His popularity has somewhat diminished after his decision to re-deploy troops in Afghanistan, his budget which many think would cause inflation, and more of his decision to bail out banks instead of people.

And imagine the stress that Nigerian bomber gave him some days ago. That young pious religious bomber hailed from the same country Obama got his surname from. Symbolic? Maybe.

That's what I'm talking about here---why is it that young men, like Obama, want to be president of their respective countries. I mean, like, here in the Philippines, we have a fortish in the person of JC delos Reyes and Gilbert Teodoro who want nothing more than sit at the centuries old chairs in the palace. We have fiftish people like Noynoy Aquino and Dick Gordon all waiting for that chance to meet those dignitaries and convene their own Cabinet. And of course, we have sixty plus men like Villar and Erap, all dying to prove that they are still politically virile and can still govern this country of 90 million people.

To be prince is a tough job, ask Machiavelli who wrote many things about power at the time when he was out of the power circle. What urges these people have that makes them work hard for the presidency?

As others know, the presidency is a thankless job. Officially, you get a salary of a young executive of a multinational corporation. You sign foot high  papers every day, shake hands every day and must always have that perpetual smile on your face, like Arroyo does every, single day. You're like Batman's nemesis, the Joker, except that you wear a clean tuxedo and he does not.

Is it the money or the power?

For Barack, it is basically the power to change things, while receiving a huge paycheck. Being US president is really something--you get to change things not just in America but around the world and get a humongous pay for doing so.

Here in this beautiful side of the Pacific, being president is like having to suffer numerous critics while officially getting a salary fit for a junior manager.

Expect your critics to mangle your reputation and your family's during the time of your administration. And definitely you'll try very hard to defend each and every thing that you do even if its not necessary to do so.

Is it the reputed billion peso a month kickback jueteng lords reportedly give the president that attracts men of beautiful reputations to bid for it? Or the novelty of having a dedicated group of men armed with sophisticated weapons following you and your family around? Or, that sense of being important in every function you attend, and being treated like a veritable King or the strongest Sultan everywhere you go?

At the end of the day, being president is something of a burden. It is a burden which men of fine character want. It is what JC delos Reyes wants. And definitely, it is the dream of Noynoy Aquino too.

How about Manny Villar? I doubt very much if Erap dreams of changing things when re-elected. He knows for a fact that no one here is strong enough to repulse traditional forces. That calling for change and including that in one's platform of government is just sloganeering. That's why Gibo Teodoro, for all his boasts that he's witty and intelligent, did not even mind drafting one. Why call for change when you could very well live with the same things now?

Obama is tired. And he wants to play golf.