WHEN PGMA's coup against Erap succeeded, George W.'s questionable election (Florida) likewise put him in office. Both these successions into presidential office were questionable, iffy, and challengeable.

I wrote then of the circumstances similar to both, and called Gloria and George karmic twins.

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I sense a similar air hovering around our present presidential race. My gut says that the Philippines will experience an upset in the coming presidential elections, as did the U.S.

Note the following similarities thus far.

The U.S. Democratic nomination was largely perceived as in the bag for Hillary Clinton, the so-called obvious choice. And yet Barack Obama prevailed. The Liberal party presidential nomination was perceived as largely in the bag for Mar Roxas, until the sudden Noynoy Aquino upset. With both Democratic and Liberal parties, relations between obvious choices and fresh princes stayed most cordial.

I think the signs of the times favor a fresh prince over the obvious. My thought now is this: Is the fresh prince in our side of the democratic world going to be Noynoy Aquino or the even fresher Chiz Escudero?

Between the two of them, Noynoy is the obvious choice. As was Hillary. Escudero is the shot at the moon. As was Obama.

Those with the proverbial ear to the ground say that it is Escudero who has the crucial "youth vote." As did Obama. They also say it's time for a change from the traditional politics to that of the politics of change, whatever that really means. They said that in the U.S., too.

I'll take bets that our fresh prince is Chiz Escudero.