Clinton, Estrada show charisma's influence

In another victory for womanizers all over the globe, the thirteenth Philippines president, Joseph Estrada, took office on Tuesday.

Estrada, even more than Clinton, is know for his loose moral lifestyle, having fathered seven children by five different women.

Similar to Clinton, too, is his appeal to the common man. It seems no matter what either of them does, it's what they say that has won them popularity.

Curiously, in an age when religion is making a comeback, our leaders are being selected based on charisma, not performance. Undoubtedly, Clinton is peerless in his ability to debate and speak to the masses.

Times have definitely changed. What would have been considered a major scandal in the Reagan or Bush administration has become "just another story" for Clinton.

Why have our standards dropped? Has the United States, with its mere 260 million people, run out of men who are both honest and capable?

Or have we just settled for having a good economy, forgetting things of minor importance, like the fact our nation is led by a man who doesn't set an example?