EDITORIAL - GMA erred again. Why bother with Dinky?

Have you ever wondered why, in this protracted battle between President Arroyo and her political enemies, nobody just seems able to wiggle out of the tight situation to emerge with a clear advantage?

It is because neither has been able to gain enough public support. The enemies of Arroyo do not come on as viable alternatives. They are in fact considered worse than she is. But Arroyo herself is very inconsistent. One day she wins some support, the next day she loses them.

Just take a look at the way she has been dealing with her enemies. The other day, former social welfare secretary Dinky Soliman was arrested for trying to lead a march without a permit. For God's sake, Madam President, why can you just not let Dinky walk.

Dinky is nothing. She is a piece of scrap on the dinner table. Even if she pays people to follow her to heaven, they will try their luck somewhere else. She may, as a person, be nice. But being nice does not translate to strong and credible leadership.

A woman who, judging by her fashion sense, cannot seem to remember whether she is going to a Cabinet meeting or a noontime television show, cannot be expected to make larger sense of the larger world around her.

So, how to deal with such a woman? Why, let her be. Let her traipse up and down the wide avenues of the capital. The comic sight may even divert the attention of the people from the real problems confronting them and forget that President Arroyo has done little to solve them.

But if Arroyo cannot distinguish who her real enemies are and seizes just about every Dinky, Winky and Woo simply because they happen to be making noise, then she is no better than her enemies. They truly deserve one another.

Whenever Arroyo shows some sign of strength and makes sense, it reenergizes a desperate nation, the economy rebounds, and her enemies are forced back to their drawing boards. Then she does something silly and public confidence collapses again. Her enemies regain inspiration.

Arroyo has many enemies. She neither has the time, energy nor resources to confront them all. She has to know which enemies have punches she can take and which she cannot, so she may be able to develop her defense posture accordingly.