[typezed]

It makes one edgier, more high-strung, more prone to navel-gaze and talk obsessively about oneself - and not at all more articulate - while failing from listening to anyone else.

Sounds like our man (e.g. sudden strange outbursts (bullying reporters behind his house, conflict with streetcar drivers, grabbing women's behinds), tendency to promote himself as the hero in his own story ('without me these kids would be dead or in jail'), and inability to work with others).

 

[Lenser]

I wouldn't go that far and leap to that conclusion myself. In my view, Rob Ford is naturally obnoxious. Coke would only heighten it. But he could have been boozing, or perhaps he was just straight but feeling ebullient in his own oafish way. We know this is a man who can put a foot in his mouth in a moment's notice and not even register his mis-step until someone has called him on it.

I can't say he was on coke, or booze, or anything; I wasn't there. But am I surprised this latest allegation has arisen? Nope, not one bit.

 

[typezed]

I was mostly joking. Just noticed how that list of behaviours could be seen in Ford, if you angled your head in the right way. If I was to look for background foundation to these claims (I'd never thought of the possibility of significant drug use before) I'd probably look towards his family history, particularly his sister's problems and her drug-dealing gun-toting boyfriends. It's not like the true depths of the drug world are remote to the Ford family.

 

[Torontovibe]

That is unbelievably unprofessional.

You don't go around speculating somebody may or may not be on cocaine.

Her career has suddenly evaporated right before our eyes!

Since when is professionalism a requirement to be mayor? Both Lastman and Ford would not have become mayor, if that was the case.

 

[nfitz]

Not only no photos - there were not reports of Ford looking "out of it".

That does seem odd that other photos (good or bad) haven't quickly surfaced in this digital age.

There were reports of Sarah Thomson having one or more drink and of her behaviour being quite odd.

One or more drinks? Shock, scandal. The only reported odd behaviour I've heard is after Rob Ford allegedly molested her, that she then told people what had happened, and got her assistant to try and bait Ford into doing it again. Is there something I missed, or is this the traditional "attack the women who alleges sexual misconduct" that we've been practising for decades.

 

[adma]

Again: judging from the photo, I wouldn't be surprised if it's deeper health issues than mere drink or drugs--kind of a "70s Rita Hayworth" situation.

And thus, we come back full circle to the "is Rob Ford dying?" topic.

 

[Lenser]

Here's the deal. You go to a party, you have a couple of drinks, and if people are shooting pix with their phone, chances are excellent you too might be caught in an awkward moment where you, unfortunately, appear to be drunk, oafish, sneering or leering or just plain off.

It might be fun to draw false conclusions about what Rob Ford may or may not have been on, but a single photo of a single instant is hardly substantial.

 

[Lansdude]

That does seem odd that other photos (good or bad) haven't quickly surfaced in this digital age.

What's more likely, that the press and the internet public at large has ignored the photos or that they were never released in the wild in the first place? Seems like its one easy source of evidence which would help to dispel the picture of Ford that Thomson painted.

 

[Lansdude]

Here's the deal. You go to a party, you have a couple of drinks, and if people are shooting pix with their phone, chances are excellent you too might be caught in an awkward moment where you, unfortunately, appear to be drunk, oafish, sneering or leering or just plain off.

It might be fun to draw false conclusions about what Rob Ford may or may not have been on, but a single photo of a single instant is hardly substantial.

Supplying The Sun with some photos of Ford not looking on the brink of death would really help his case. Last I checked, they were still rolling the bloated corpse rendering of the night.

 

[JayBeeGooner]

http://metronews.ca/voices/ford-for-toronto/

 

[Lenser]

Well, do you realize that unflattering photographs usually find favour over flattering ones - and that holds true for many politicians and celebrities. It helps sell papers and pushes the notion that the rich and powerful are just as dozy and compromised as the lesser mortals around them.

 

[Lansdude]

Well, do you realize that unflattering photographs usually find favour over flattering ones - and that holds true for many politicians and celebrities. It helps sell papers and pushes the notion that the rich and powerful are just as dozy and compromised as the lesser mortals around them.

Sure, but it stands to reason the pro-Ford media would make an obvious and easy pro-Ford move. Especially considering its been several days now and that photo is stale and ubiquitous.

 

[Lenser]

Yeah, but you have to give the Sun a little bit of time to invent fresh spin strategies. I imagine they're more than a little shell-shocked by now. It's not as if Ford's legal victories have allowed them to crow overly much; each and every time hizzoner steps in a fresh steaming pile they have to work overtime to imagine a positive angle on the story and keep up with the thankless task of salvaging his rep.

 

[nfitz]

Well, I dug a bit. And here are more photos from the same night, in the order I came across them:

 

[PinkLucy]

Jeez, was it crappy picture night?