Rewriting history and gloating about it

This was one of the things I feared the most.

It has come to pass.

And I honestly feel very disturbed by it.

Very, very disturbed.

Joseph Ejercito Estrada who is running for President of the Republic yet once again has come up with a television ad that sends shivers down my spine.

The deposed President who was convicted of plunder and spent a number of years in seclusion (I refuse to say he was in jail because what passed off as prison was actually a resort that had better facilities than some five-star hotels) is now rewriting history, proclaiming to all and sundry with a straight face and without batting an eyelash, that if EDSA DOS did not happen, "malayo na sana ang ating narating."

Thank you to the people who have been suffering from a lingering attack of selective morality, Estrada can now afford to be sanctimonious and to gloat over the fact that he has - in his mind - been vindicated. I can make a quick rundown of the many things we have seemingly forgiven Estrada of - from the Boracay Mansion to the midnight cabinet meetings to the many mistresses to the legendary inefficiency and tardiness - but I guess there is no point in doing so. In the minds of the people who fancy themselves as the guardians of ethics and morality in this country, these are forgotten and forgiven and we all know why.

What really gets me riled up is not really the fact that Estrada is rewriting history. It is the fact that he is gloating about it. It is the fact that he is being sanctimonious. If it is any consolation, at least he is not leading in the surveys and it looks like he has lost favor with the masa who used to be a strong constituency. I hope he gets trounced in the elections!

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