That's Mr. Poe if you're nasty
After building up the supposed invincibility of FPJ and now that an FPJ presidency is in the opinion of almost everybody just about round the corner, the Inquirer has started its demolition job on FPJ the same way it subtly bulldozed buddy Erap--insider stories on the person's gaffes.

The Philippine Star also reports on the same subject, how FPJ got vexed with the myriad questions being thrown at him. He was asked about his opinion on, among other things, economic program and the death penalty.

Apparently FPJ was irked that some reporters were voicing faults with his economic program when he, in fact, has not announced it yet. Well, he has a point on that. One cannot find fault on something that does not exist yet.

FPJ is not used to ubiquitous inquisitorial reporters asking his opinion on almost everything under the political sun. Even as a movie star he never promotes his movies, guests on variety shows and have reporters ask him questions. He had a royal aloofness and movie reporters did not transgress that. News reporters, on the other hand, are all too ready to expose FPJ's political ignorance as long as it would make good copy.

FPJ is uncomfortable fielding the reporters' questions. He knows nothing about those things and he knows it. I seriously doubt if he read the broadsheets for most of his adult life. He is not politically conversant and is vexed that reporters should expect him to be so.

Miriam says FPJ is having some tutoring from UP professors (probably from the College of Public Administartion), but we have to see yet the result of that tutoring. FPJ still has no witty one-liners on every issue.

Running for president, unfortunately, is like joining a beauty contest. One has to memorize prepared answers for every imaginable question. How do we achieve world peace? What is the essence of a woman? All that crap.

Erap was better coached when he ran for presidency. Whenever asked to comment on a particular policy issue he never had time to ask about from his advisers, Erap would give a wry smile to the reporter and say that rest assured he would always consider "the greatest good of the greatest number." Erap had Jeremy Bentham then to parry the assaults of the reporters. FPJ should find his own handy philosopher--but then again public administration professors are not know to be philosophical.