i've been away for a while, but have a few stray thoughts about the rob situation:
1) he lived by the sword of 'fame' and now he's dying by it. fame's fickle, and rob was always way, way more compelling as a celeb than a policymaker (he actually made none). so now other stuff is in the news and rob's been dropped like a hot rock - his fame will be as useful as whoever won "american idol" 5 years ago, or something. maybe the odd bar appearance or crappy radio gig - but that's it. this must be frustrating him massively.
2) more importantly, the news that lisi turned down the bargain is compelling. i don't think it got enough press here. i read it like this: everyone around the guy knows that rob can't go on the stand again - he's hopeless under oath. further, i have to guess they really don't want this thing to go to trial in general because of what would have to be entered into evidence. i'm not sure that lisi's really confident of winning a trial so much as i suspect his funders have strongly suggested that he plead guilty. it's true that he'd get a worse deal doing so than in taking the plea bargain, but it also means he never has to turn evidence against rob.
3) doug's run at the province is real. the pcpo is in disarray and need new blood. either they opt for a steady hand on the tiller, or they throw caution to the wind. doug's ranting about cookie jars (and total absence of meaningful policy) will play well elsewhere in the province, too - i know plenty of people in the 519 and 705, for instance, who might buy it. the pcpo should have tough internal vetting in place, but in a sense the past 4 years have already been a referendum on that: deal hash? never show up at work? spew bigoted hatred? 1 in 3 don't care!
