[TheTigerMaster]

As gross/dumb/unsophisticated Rob Ford is, do you think people would hate him less if he looked like, say, George Clooney?

Notice I said "hate him less" rather than "like him" because we'd still hate him regardless of looks, I think.

I'd hate him more.

But why is this relevant?

 

[TheTigerMaster]

prosperegal:

Someone with a personality like RF probably won't stay looking like George Clooney for long.

AoD

Ouch. Charlie Sheen perhaps?

 

[Mongo]

$80,203

The last $10,000 was raised slightly more quickly than the $10,000 before that -- 23hrs as against 24hrs. With any luck, the pace should pick up once people are back at work and Rob Ford has to face the cameras.

 

[TheTigerMaster]

$80,203

The last $10,000 was raised slightly more quickly than the $10,000 before that -- 23hrs as against 24hrs. With any luck, the pace should pick up once people are back at work and Rob Ford has to face the cameras.

I'm very happy with this pace. It's slightly increased over the past few days. We'll have no problems raising the $200,000.

 

[sarnya]

I'm very happy with this pace. It's slightly increased over the past few days. We'll have no problems raising the $200,000.

Unless there's another lead in this story next week or the casino debate lasts a couple days (and thus, municipal politics are headline news for a couple days), I can't see this making $200,000 without a large contribution.

Is it possible that Ford won't even show up the council meeting tomorrow? He canceled the meeting so he may not even attend as a sign of protest, while conveniently hiding from the media. Though arguably, that could generate just as much press as attending the meeting.

Tuesday May 21, may be one of the most interesting days in Toronto politics.

 

[MetroMan]

To your first point... no media organization aside from a tabloid would pay for this footage - it sets an awful precedent and it has the potential to create a "market" for evidence of officials doing shitty things, and it's mutually assured destruction for the proper news outlets if one of them does it. For proper journalism to maintain its integrity, it's important that information isn't paid for. Paid evidence/photos are the reason that the paparazzi exist and deal solely with tabloids, and I have yet to hear anyone happy that they exist. Gawker is basically a tabloid, which is why it's borderline acceptable/unsurprising for them to be doing it.

NOW could fall in the tabloid category. Heck, if it were a leftie pinko Mayor in this position, I would not be surprised in the least to see The Sun pay up to get the video out.

I'm so, so unconvinced that Ford will resign though - he's too much of a belligerent/pig-headed stubborn manbaby (seemingly) to listen to reasonable arguments and give up the most powerful position he has ever had and/or wanted.

I don't disagree. I'm just being told that pretty much everybody around him -- including Doug -- are trying to convince him that his best move would be to step aside for now and come back "recovered" and a new man sometime in 2014 ready to win the election on a wave of sympathy as the "come-back-kid". He is in fact listening and considering it but will he follow through? I'm very very skeptical as you are but his people did manage to change Mayor Ford enough that we rarely see him blow his temper like he often did as Councillor Ford.

 

[GenerationW]

Hate to "go there", but I really can't imagine anyone dismissing a politician with Olivia Chow's resume as a "lightweight" who wasn't a minority female.

So I'm a racist and a sexist just because I have a negative opinion of Olivia Chow as a politician? Next time you decide to "go there", choose the silence over the motion.

 

[CN Tower]

Second, equating the lack of power to remove the mayor from office per Municipal Act almost certainly doesn't meant that legislation affirms his qualities a civic leader.

Neither affirms not condemns. Only you & your lynch mob seem to be intend on that goal.

 

[greenleaf]

A glimpse into the minds of the remaining Ford supporters, perhaps: "Why rational people buy into conspiracy theories" (from NY Times)

 

[LowPolygon]

[h=2]To end the uncertainty, we need to buy the Ford video: Rosie DiManno[/h]
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/201...need_to_buy_the_ford_video_rosie_dimanno.html

 

[Ice_Burn]

I'm just being told that pretty much everybody around him -- including Doug -- are trying to convince him that his best move would be to step aside for now and come back "recovered" and a new man sometime in 2014 ready to win the election on a wave of sympathy as the "come-back-kid". He is in fact listening and considering it but will he follow through? I'm very very skeptical as you are but his people did manage to change Mayor Ford enough that we rarely see him blow his temper like he often did as Councillor Ford.

If Doug is indeed onside with this strategy, I could see it getting through to Rob after a weekend of reflection. We'd have Mayor Holyday (presumably) until Rob registers as a candidate for 2014. The biggest question is what three-word slogan they use for the campaign? "I BEAT CRACK" "RESPECT FOR REXDALE"

 

[TonyV]

I've been away for a few days, following this from a distance.

Nevermind any "strategy" that Ford's backers may have in mind. I want Ford to just go away, and stay away. He serves no useful purpose whatsoever, and I believe that even the most careless/reckless electors are aware of this by now: Ford doesn't learn anything and it's unwise to expect him to be "chastened" in time for 2014. Ford is toast.

 

[Silence&Motion]

So I'm a racist and a sexist just because I have a negative opinion of Olivia Chow as a politician? Next time you decide to "go there", choose the silence over the motion.

Don't take it so personally. This is not the first time I've heard someone dismiss Olivia Chow as "a lightweight". Given that as a city councillor she was far more influential than either Councillor Miller or Councillor Ford (or any of the other councillors who have run for mayor since amalgamation), given that she is also an influential member of the shadow cabinet of the federal opposition, she has obviously proven herself to be a political heavyweight (at least for someone running for mayor). But the criticism is not of her ideology, her morals, or her policy ideas, it's that she's "a lightweight" - not a politician to be taken seriously.

Despite small gains, Canadian politics continues to be heavily dominated by white males. Thus, when someone comes along who doesn't fit the standard mould of a political leader, it's easy to casually dismiss their credibility without ever thinking explicitly about race or gender.

So, no, I'm not accusing you personally of being racist or sexist. However, I didn't want to leave a comment like that hanging without encouraging people to think about why we might use certain words to describe certain people.

 

[jje1000]

I don't disagree. I'm just being told that pretty much everybody around him -- including Doug -- are trying to convince him that his best move would be to step aside for now and come back "recovered" and a new man sometime in 2014 ready to win the election on a wave of sympathy as the "come-back-kid". He is in fact listening and considering it but will he follow through? I'm very very skeptical as you are but his people did manage to change Mayor Ford enough that we rarely see him blow his temper like he often did as Councillor Ford.

Is a year and a half enough to change someone like Mr. Ford?

 

[Ramako]

It looks like the end of the long weekend and the story being back at the top of the news cycle is spurring more donations. The pace has picked up compared to over the weekend.