HOW can we elect a qualified president? The attempt to answer this question has become a hot topic for some politicians in Indonesia. Apparently, for them, the three years before the election is the right time to begin promoting their respective candidates. In general, it is the party chairperson who is nominated.

The Golkar Party, for instance, is boasting about Aburizal Bakrie; the National Mandate Party is going with Hatta Rajasa; the Gerindra