Newin Chidchob again fought back tears yesterday. The ones not knowing whether to laugh or cry, though, are his political enemies as well as some reluctant allies who must have become more anxious about the man's resurgent star. He has overcome arguably his biggest, if not last, hurdle and there may be no stopping him now.
Call him a real cat with nine lives.
Many years ago, Newin comfortably survived a major election scandal although he had looked all but completely nailed when his canvassers were found with banknotes stapled to his promotional brochures. Then the BBC (Bangkok Bank of Commerce) debacle swept away his Group of 16 peers, leaving him the only one standing.
He served Chuan Leekpai, and then Thaksin Shinawatra, earning both men's private compliment and trust. When Thaksin was overthrown by the military, Newin was in disarray for a while, running for his life, but eventually bounced back to ally himself with his former hunters. The Democrats would not have been able to return to power but for an outrageous conspiracy between Newin's group and the men in uniform.
Then came the rubber-sapling case submitted to the Supreme Court by anti-corruption investigators. A "guilty" verdict would have ended everything, but after a glance at the crucial backdrops - the case was initiated when Newin was on Thaksin's side but was concluded when he was not - yesterday's ruling did not come as a shock. 
Newin being Newin, we saw a man choked with emotion yesterday. His pledge to "protect the monarchy until my last breath" did not seem to fit the situation but at least it told us how scared he had been. He sounded like a thankful man who didn't quite know whom to thank.
The Democrats must be the ones who don't quite know how to feel. A guilty verdict would have put Newin in jail, but here's a man you would rather have on your side when playing politics. A wounded Newin is highly dangerous and unpredictable. At a normal time, Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva would have been happy to have an angry Newin manipulate things from behind bars, but now the Democrat leader should be content with a relieved Newin trying to fulfil his ambitions.
With his biggest trouble gone, Newin can refocus on the Bhum Jai Thai Party, which will be a force to be reckoned with in the next election. The uneasy relationship with the Democrats will last at least a while longer, not least because the acquittal would enrage the red-shirted movement, which forms the bulk of political support for the opposition Pheu Thai Party.
The yellow shirts won't be particularly happy either with the acquittal. Newin, however, has always thrived in this kind of situation, where nobody seemed to really like his group. He is the most typical but also most skilled political survivor as underlined by the ambivalence of everyone around him toward the court verdict.
While the red shirts must be enraged, they face the painful truth that the alleged rubber-sapling scandal took place while their beloved hero Thaksin Shinawatra was in power. The yellow shirts, while campaigning relentlessly against Thaksin's alleged corruption, did not complain when Newin broke ranks to back Abhisit as prime minister late last year. The Democrats, though eyeing Newin with complete mistrust, still need him in order to stay in power.
How farther can Newin go from here? That remains to be seen, and fluid political circumstances mean he may face new tough challenges. There's one little thing to ponder, though: Every time Newin cries, something bad tends to happen to others.