Americans should be happier now with their new president, Joe Biden. I caught parts of the interview with him by CNN’s Anderson Cooper, and he seemed very alert and sincere in his responses, whatever questions were fired at him. The interview took place at the Presidential Town Hall and I am sure it was watched by people all over the world, except maybe Donald Trump’s die-hards who could see no fault in him. But me, I think Americans should be congratulated for voting for a man whose heart seems to be in the right place.
***
Biden was so alert and assured when he answered questions from one of CNN’s top men, Anderson Cooper, who is so adept and ready with his questions and never rude or insulting to his subjects. Well, it could not only be due to the fact that he must have gone to the best schools, his lineage is also impressive. Isn’t he the son or grandson of billionaire Gloria Vanderbilt? Class talaga, as the Tagalog-speaking would describe him. But he’s so humble and never rude to the ones he interviewed. And good looking, too!
***
And I am sure the President also got a lot more admirers with the way he responded and expressed himself. So different from his predecessor – need we name him? – who seemed to be bragging to hide his inadequacies. So, maybe we will see a different style of governance in the U.S.A than what was seen in the recent administration. Even their facial expression are opposites – with Trump always scowling, and Biden smiling. Is that a sign of a brighter future for their country, despite the pandemic?
***
It is good to hear predictions that life will return to normal by the time Christmas comes around. But that is a good ten months away, and who knows what else can happen by then? Will there be other ailments to puzzle our medical community? Or will this still prevailing COVID be so mean as to produce more variants in the months to come?, we should all pray with all our hearts to be spared that, because, as of now, even our religious practices and ceremonies are affected.
***
In the meantime, politicians are still more concerned about elections, I think, than about the pandemic that, hopefully, is calming down lately. For the Junior of our late unlamented President Ferdinand Marcos, Jr., a.k.a. “Bongbong”, it must feel like the end of the world when the Supreme Court denied his appeal to be declared winner of the vice-presidential race that was won by now VP LeniRobredo. I guess Bongbong hasn’t yet realized what a trauma the presidency of his father, that was also tagged as “The Conjugal Dictatorship”, had left in the country.
***
I heard somewhere that elementary schools will reopen in two or three months, but that would mean February to March, or March to April. But those are the months when, ordinarily, students, from kindergarten to high school are on vacation. If they open now, or next month, when will the vacation months be? July and August? Andin three months it will be December, and vacation time again. Oh what a disruption this COVID has wrought in our lives!
***
In the meantime, when will vaccinations take place in our country? Did President Duterte hear, or was told that it had suggested in this column that he should be the one to get vaccinated first? But which vaccine are we getting since the popular AstraZeneca cannot sell to us anymore, probably having more buyers than they can accommodate? Oh, I would like AstraZeneca, it has an exotic name! But so far, none of the vaccines invented or produced have assured a 100 percent success, so let us content ourselves with what we eventually get.
***
Has President Duterte already been vaccinated? I don’t think I have seen on TV or read somewhere that he had taken the shots. I am sure more Pinoys who have been refusing to be vaccinated will agree if they see their President trusting it. They say senior citizens should be prioritized, and he is that, too, isn’t he? Me, I think I will wait until he has undergone it, before I submit, too. Follow the leader, you know!*
