Neal Cruz: Erap Wants Vindication, May Run in 2010

From Neal Cruz:

Is former president Joseph Estrada running again for president in 2010? Estrada is coy about it, alternating his answers between “I have no plans on running” and “I will if the opposition does not come up with a common candidate,” but reading his body language and analyzing his answers in an interview (we interviewed him last Sunday at his home in San Juan), one comes up with the conclusion that he will.

It is almost impossible that the opposition can agree on a common candidate. Ten horses cannot hold back Senate President Manny Villar or Sen. Mar Roxas from running for the top position in 2010. Neither will either of them slide down to the vice presidential slot. So Estrada will have an excuse to throw his hat into the presidential ring....

Should we take Estrada seriously or take him with a grain of salt? Will he or will he not run?

As I see it, he will -- if he sees overwhelming support from the people in his sorties. I think he wants vindication. And revenge, after all, is sweet.

And I heard Erap only plans to stay in office for 3 years if elected again.

Under a term-sharing scheme, Estrada would serve for only three years and his vice president, the remaining half of the six-year presidency, according to Rodriguez.

this reminds me of "disgraced" Sen. Trent Lott who resigned a few months after winning re-election in 2006 to work in the lucrative lobbying business.

For Trent Lott, 2007 was a year of redemption and vindication — and of surprises.

He shocked many of his colleagues by unexpectedly winning the race for Senate minority whip last fall — and then shocked them again last month when he announced he was leaving to cash in on K Street.

Sure, making it appear as though you are leaving to profit from your congressional contacts might not be the most dignified departure. But it beats getting run out of town because you were widely perceived as praising the segregationist ways of then-Sen. Strom Thurmond.

In 2002, He was forced to step down as Senate Majority leader after he praised the segregationist ways of Strom Thurmond. He did not resign from his senate seat after the "demotion", pero nabawasan ang impluensiya at clout niya sa Senado. Winning re-election in 2006 and getting elected as Senate Minority Whip was his way of redeeming and vindicating himself.

MORE: So... Is MLQ3 saying Erap is a spent force that has little chance of winning in 2010 if allowed to run?