EDITORIAL - Rama should not play into Osmeña's trap

Mayor Michael Rama should not get angry. He should get even. Allegations of being a drug addict will remain what they are -- mere allegations, until they are proven. But it is not up to him to prove it. He is presumed to be innocent under the law. It is up to his detractors, including former mayor Tomas Osmeña, to prove the charges, regardless of where and how they are made -- personally, verbally, in print, on radio, in cyberspace ... whatever and wherever.

Of course, lies told repeatedly may assume the aura of truth. That is the obvious ploy. But that is precisely it. Having an aura of truth does not the truth make. Rama should exploit the presumption that is on his side and capitalize on it, whip it to his advantage. The entry of Osmeña into the picture only reinforces what most Cebuanos already long suspected. And that is that this is all just about politics.

So, instead of getting miffed, and miffed enough to sue all of his faceless detractors on the Internet, along with Osmeña whose desperation with his flagging campaign is reflected in his almost begging to be sued as well, that it might bring him the extra mention and a few sympathy votes, Rama should focus more on his own campaign and not be lured into doing what his enemies want him to do.

Rama should know that all those who criticize him in whatever medium or platform are probably doing so for reasons fair or foul. That means they are all votes that are already lost to him. What he needs to do is protect the votes he already has and try to win some more from the undecided and uncommitted. But he can't do that by playing into the game his enemies want him to play.

Not that the drug issue is not important. But going after his critics is not the way to address it. To be lured into a fight over an issue will only back him into a corner from which he might not be able to escape. So Rama should instead find other means to go after those going after him. There are clearly far worse issues at his disposal that he can hurl at his enemies, if only he does not get distracted enough to miss them altogether.

On the other hand, mud-slinging is not the only way to play this game. Rama can put a positive spin to his campaign, and in so doing place a stark difference between his style of politics and leadership and that of Osmeña's. Rama should pause for a while and assess his strengths and weaknesses instead of being drawn into a fight that, because of his failure to assess such strengths and weaknesses, might be a futile and needless one.

Rama, for one, can take comfort in the fact that Osmeña is desperate and panicking, as reflected in the recent political decisions he made, and in his choice of people to surround himself with. In all of these, Osmeña appears to have totally abandoned what is in the best interests of the city in favor of his own political survival. Rama should realize it is not he who is clutching at straws. Osmeña is.