First off, I disagree that the elections should be viewed as a fight between good and evil. This is nonsense. In the first place, who’s to claim that he or she represents good? Senator Noynoy Aquino? Oh please. Can we please take off our beergoggles and see the elections for what it really is. It’s just a contest among politicians who have it in their heads that they have what it takes to govern the country.

Anyway, the discussion touched briefly on the subject of winnability. The person I was talking to said he will not vote for anyone identified with President Gloria Arroyo. He explained his stand by stressing that voting for a PGMA ally is like voting against the prosecution of PGMA after she steps down. He ended his argument by saying that a PGMA candidate is not winnable at this time and that even if he didn’t have so much hatred for the incumbent he will not waste his vote on such a candidate. He will certainly lose, he said.

I can’t say I agree with his argument. While I’m all for pursuing the appropriate cases that may be filed against PGMA as soon as she loses her immunity, I am of the opinion that this issue should not even be a deciding factor in our choice of president. Should the prosecution of PGMA even be a major thrust of whoever will replace her? Last time I checked, the position of president is not a prosecutory one.

Going back to the issue of winnability. My belief is that, as voters, we should not really bother with whether a candidate stands a chance of winning or not. It is simply not our concern. The only people who should lose sleep over such matters are the candidates themselves and their campaign managers. For me, voters need only concern themselves with a candidate’s character, track record and platform. I would even say that of this three a candidate’s platform should already be enough.

Some may ask, “Won’t I be wasting my vote if I give it to a candidate who has a very slim chance of winning?” The simple answer is no. Who’s to say this or that candidate can’t win anyway? The survey firms? Ignore them and the crap they produce.  Just do due diligence. Examine the platforms of the various candidates and pick the one that you think has the best set of plans for the country.

If you’re not convinced then go ahead and vote for the candidate perceived as being winnable. Just remember winnability is no indicator of future performance nor is it a gauge of anything other than a candidate’s popularity, which is more often than not undeserved.