Can Arroyo's Image be Rehabbed?

Sabi ni MLQ3:

Another point: if the public wants the President to step down in 2010, they should understand this also means she will begin her political rehabilitation starting on that date. We would, in a sense, be returning to how it was from 1946 to 1965 and from 1992 to 1998: if an incumbent president stepped down gracefully, the successor would leave the predecessor unmolested, guaranteeing a tranquil retirement for himself in turn, regardless of the political rhetoric of past campaigns. This tradition was broken only twice: with the pursuit of the Marcoses and the imprisonment and trial of Estrada; the President’s pardon of Estrada can be viewed as the first step in restoring the status quo ante.

That being the case, if she steps down in 2010, the message is everything she did during her incumbency has been ratified by the people; in which case the people should leave her alone and give all her successors free rein to undertake every single policy of hers they see fit. This ought to be the true price for “I will wait ’till 2010.”

I doubt Arroyo's image can be rehabilitated, not in this age of the internets. I don't know how you can spin away Garci-assisted election stealing. And it is not just her who needs "credibility makeover", the guys at the CBCP and those shameless apologists who defended her on Hello Garci like MST columnist Bong Austero, Winnie Monsod (read this too), Connie Veneracion and bloggers like this one need it too.

But who knows? Can George W. Bush rehab his image after 20 years if Iraq turns out to be a stable democracy? Harry Truman did it. But does the disgraced Arroyo have a better chance than those two?

One thing for sure, if she is able to "gracefully" end her unelected and corrupt term in office (2010) without being impeached or "people powered", then she will get away with everything.