  We resolve an existing controversy between, on the one hand, convincing
evidence for the existence of competing order in underdoped cuprates, and, on
the other hand, spectroscopic data consistent with a seemingly homogeneous
d-wave superconductor in the very same compounds. Specifically, we show how
short-range fluctuations of the competing order essentially restore the nodal
d-wave spectrum from the qualitatively distinct folded dispersion resulting
from homogeneous coexisting phases. The signatures of the fluctuating competing
order can be found mainly in a splitting of the antinodal quasi-particles and,
depending of the strength of the competing order, also in small induced nodal
gaps as found in recent experiments on underdoped La{2-x}SrxCuO4.
