Yo! Tina4President!

Now, that sounds like yelling to the U.S. President, “Howdy, George!” while he and Laura shop at the Neiman-Marcus corner Northwest Highway and Central Expressway north Dallas. The sound of familiarity may sound disrespectful to some but this kind of informality in the Lone Star State would bother none. And Tina has brought refreshing and delightful informality to our staid political theatre, so what better way to greet her and her following but with a spirited push for the White House 2016!

Executive Tina is, of course, the subject of this musing, though thinking about the presidency of the United States in the afterglow of Obama’s end run touchdown (we are still thinking football country here) is not too far off center. Hillary’s breakthrough and the frenzy that followed the catapulting of heretofore unknown Palin to political center stage, certainly make every little Susie’s prospect to occupying 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. no longer a question of whether-or-not, but simply a question of when.

Tina is young (will have to wait two terms before meeting the 35-year-old qualifying provision), a woman, a member of a minority group and a cerebral head way above many current holders of public office in the Commonwealth and around the nation. Just from the foregoing, she’s already a quatro-fer for the oddsmakers and betting aficionados! But I am ahead of myself.

No less than the venerable doyen of the literate social commentators on island Ruth Tighe suggested in a recent posting that Tina, in her estimation, is not only eminently qualified to be the next Governor of the CNMI, but that she stands way ahead of anyone among declared and whispered aspirants in intelligence and integrity.

In Ms. Tighe’s words: “Looking at the potential slate of candidates—as well as non-candidates—I’d have to say that I don’t see anyone even close to the model set by Obama except Tina Sablan. She has fought custom, tradition, habit, whatever you want to call it, from the very beginning of her campaign for a seat in the House, and she made it. She continues to fight the status quo and, moreover, has initiated some admirable new practices, particularly the sharing of legislative calendars, agendas, memos, documents, etc., with the media and the general public. She is frugal to the extreme with her budget. She is unafraid, and relentless, in pursuing what she believes is necessary and important.”

SVES has a special niche for her alumni Tina, who also graced the Farewell and Recognition ceremony for the 6th graders a couple of years back, remarkable in that she was in a car accident on her way to the affair, and endeavored to make it to the event in time to share her reflections when it would have been perfectly understandable and excusable had she attended to the accident and its aftermath.

In our school’s last assembly where students performed dance and musical numbers from the cultures of residents in the Marianas since European contact, the assembly grounds stood bare in the sun, devoid of the former shade of towering but aged flame trees that had become a danger to the students’ safety and had to be cut down. A couple of teachers were tasked to approach island politicians for the use of their tents, and when told that Tina was one of two politicians who do not use their office budgets to further the practice of “donating” the use of tables, chairs and tents for community functions, one of the more politically active teachers asked: “I wonder what she uses her office budget for?” Without hesitation, I replied: “Expenses in aid of legislation!”

Tina early on took the effort to attend a San Antonio ES PTA meeting to explain to parents why she did not have tables and chairs to loan, such practical as well as symbolic transformation of her official role and function has endeared her to many, and vilification from a few.

Legislator Tina has shown her mettle and it is sparklingly refreshing. Some of her colleagues would not shake off the transcendent hurling of thunderbolts from Mt. Olympus, projecting power from the status of their offices. Others meekly retreated to the immanent interest of their clawing constituency and left themselves at the mercy of their supporters. Tina worked diligently and transparently, communicated clearly and without apology. This radical shift to honesty and transparency in governance is commendable; adding gracious proletarian style with refined cognitive faculties is a plus. Perhaps, that’s what makes Tina so attractive to be the Commonwealth’s next executive officer.

Gentle Uncle Ben’s health screams of retirement. My friend in Tinian adds: “I am sure Charles is tired playing little Governor, anyway.” But opportunism or even relevance aside, we greet the New Year with a sense of lucidity about the limits of the electoral process, but with enthusiasm for the process of governance that involves broad participation of the consent of the governed. Yo, Tina4Governor!

Obama was both facetiously and lovingly referred to as The One. He in turn gave a new twist to the “messianic” role. He ended his Grant Park acceptance speech after the election with: “This is our moment. This is our time, to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth, that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes, we can.” Hillary added: “Yes, we will!”

Joseph W. Matthews, a 20th century theologian coined the phrase “No-Messiah Messiah” in reference to Jesus. It is as if the Nazarene walked into Jerusalem a couple of millennium ago and proclaimed in its solemn assembly: “You are waiting for the Son of David to come and free you from the Romans. Well, I bring you good tidings. No one is coming, and I who bring you that good news, am He who you’ve been waiting for. You want to be free! Pick up your bed and walk.” Not exactly the kind of message the local covenant party and chamber of commerce was waiting for; it earned him a trip to Golgotha!

Amazingly, some did hear the message, picked up their lives, and walked into the annals of human history. In over a fortnight, Obama will assume the highest executive office of the land. How he plays his “messianic” role, or more precisely, how the electorate that sent him to the Oval Office will aid in his playing his role, will determine the nature of his administration.

As for the Governor’s seat up Capital Hill, just when I was revving up to finally foray into the political arena and echo what was shouted a year ago at the Unity March in Saipan when a portion of the crowd called out with “Tina4Governor,” Ruth reminds us that the age qualification for Governor is the same as that of the U.S. President. I guess we’ll just have to go for the White House, then!