Imagine that you are in love with someone who promises
to write you every day, but you never get a single letter. You think that he
has forgotten about you, and you move on with your life. Years later, you find
out that he did write to you, but someone else hid the letters, getting in the
way of your knowing the truth. How would you feel? Somehow, that’s the plot of
the novel The Notebook. Have you seen that film? And if so, remember
this scene?
Allie:
Why didn’t you write me? Why? It wasn’t over for me. I waited for you for
seven years. And now it’s too late.
Noah: I
wrote you 365 letters. I wrote you every day for a year.
Allie:
You wrote me?
Noah: Yes.
It wasn’t over. It still isn’t over.
The plot depicts a tale of a “broken promise” that almost ruined a true love story.
But what if the promise was not about love, but more about
life? Like the promise of the vital food on the table of a family? Or the
crucial future of the people of a country? What if the person who made the
promise was not your lover, but your leader?
That is the fact of life for the multitudes who voted
for the two leaders who made promises that they couldn’t keep: the U.S. 41st
President George H.W. Bush and our Philippine President Marcos Jr. Let’s
compare and contrast their election campaign promises and the consequences.
Bush and Marcos Jr. are like two sides of the same
coin: one made a promise that was too ambitious, but failed to deliver; the
other made a promise that was too ambiguous and has crossed his fingers. One broke his promise because of the recession;
the other is on the brink of breaking his promise because it’s only an
aspiration. One admitted his mistake and apologized; the other is still in a
state of suspension and holds on to his aspiration.
Both faced challenges that tested their integrity and
credibility. One suffered the consequences that changed his fate and legacy;
the other aimed to rebrand his family’s name to fulfill their destiny.
READ MY LIPS
Bush made his famous six-word election campaign promise in a party nomination speech:
“And I’m the one who will not raise taxes… My opponent
won’t rule out raising taxes. But I will. And the Congress will push me to
raise taxes and I say no. And they’ll push, and I’ll say no, and they’ll push
again, and I’ll say to them, ”Read my lips: no new taxes.”
Bush wanted to appeal to the conservative base of his
party who were opposed to any tax increases. He also wanted to distance himself
from his predecessor, Ronald Reagan, who had raised taxes several times during
his presidency. Bush’s promise was simple, clear, and absolute: he would not
raise taxes if he became president. As one pundit says, “It was considered an
act of political genius at the time and has been widely mocked since.”
Bush’s promise gave himself no wiggle room. The
economy slowed and the budget deficit worsened. Inevitably, he conceded, “It is
clear to me that both the size of the deficit problem and the need for a
package…require… tax increases…” The headlines were devastating like The New
York Post: “Read My Lips…I Lied!”
Bush’s promise backfired when he had to break it. He
had a growing budget deficit that forced him to compromise with the
Democratic-controlled Congress and agree to raise some taxes as part of a
budget deal. It angered many of his conservative supporters and eroded his
credibility. As a result, he lost his re-election bid to Bill Clinton, who
campaigned on the slogan “It’s the economy, stupid.”
MAY CHANCE LAGI YAN
Marcos Jr. reiterated lately his election campaign promise: P20 per kilo of rice, he first made during the 2022 election campaign season as upheld by his own party:
“Tiniyak ni Partido Federal ng Pilipinas presidential
frontrunner Ferdinand ‘Bongbong’ Marcos Jr. na magkaroon ng murang bigas na
hanggang P20 kada kilo sa kanyang
administrasyon matapos siyang manalo sa darating na halalan sa Mayo 9.”
Marcos Jr. wanted to appeal to the poor and hungry
masses who were suffering from the high cost of living. He also wanted to
differentiate himself from his father, Marcos Sr., who had ruled the country
with an iron fist for two decades until he was ousted by a people-power
revolution. Marcos Jr.’s promise, like that of Bush, was simple, clear, and
absolute: he would lower the price of rice to P20 per kilo if he became
president. One may say, “It was considered an act of political genius at the
time; will it be, like that of Bush, widely mocked soon?”
Bush’s minions engaged in an enormous
behind-the-scenes battle about the line “Read my lips: no new taxes”. One side
thought of it as too strong. Another side crossed it out on an initial draft
calling it “stupid and dangerous”. Ultimately, the line remained in the speech.
Marcos Jr.’s minions, on the other hand, attempted an about-face
claiming that Marcos Jr. never promised the P20 per kilo of rice. His
Presidential Communications Office, however, has spelled out such a promise:
“The administration of President Ferdinand R. Marcos
Jr. remains hopeful that it will fulfill his campaign promise of lowering the
price of rice to P20, despite the current rice productivity in the country,
according to the Department of Agriculture.”
Strange to say, Marcos Jr.’s high-level officials appear to have called in question his campaign promise in varying gradation of answers when asked if the Department of Agriculture could bring down rice prices to P20 per kilo:
“Iyong P20 per kilo, medyo mahirap… It is our
aspiration… I cannot answer.” (Agriculture Undersecretary Leocardio Sebastian)
“Baka mahirap po.” (Agriculture Undersecretary
Mercedita Sombilla)
One read-my-lips-no-new-taxes lesson: “A case can be
made that Bush was not defeated by agreeing to tax increases… It was, rather,
the act of BREAKING A PROMISE…” (Howard Gleckman, Urban Institute &
Brookings Institution, underscoring mine)
Never mindful of the stakes to his presidency, oddly
enough, Marcos Jr. has been holding on tightly to his election campaign
promise: “May chance lagi yan.”
Well, as Noah in The Notebook said, “It still isn’t
over.”
Scratching my head, I wrap up this article with a
wacky corny humor.
“Knock knock!”
“Who’s there”
“May chance lagi yan.”
“May chance lagi yan who?”
“Chances are ‘cause I wear a silly grin
The moment you come into view
Chances are you think that I’m in love with you…”
(Crooning the rest of the song a la Johnny Mathis style)
Content put together in collaboration with Microsoft
Bing AI-powered co-pilot
Head collage photos courtesy of The Spokesman-Review,
RTVM, & Alamy
Video clips courtesy of YouTube
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