FOR fans of Aesop's fables, next year's elections promise this early to be fun. Political seasons like this one unfailingly stir up a frenzy of cheers and boos from the opposing crowd — in this instance among the schools of rah-rah birds of the eagle from the south and the likes of Timon and Pumbaa of the lion king from the north.

They may sound more foolish than their idols, but diehard supporters stick around with the tenacity of skin disease, to borrow the words of Jose Rizal in 'Noli Me Tangere.' Theirs are not to reason why, Shakespeare swears; theirs are to devise ways of control over a larger terrain: the big race between the hare and the rabbit, along with bunches of masochistic contenders, which happens in 2028. There is only one prize, and so it must ignite competition and drive conflicts among the many who covet it.