911 Is A Joke

Mel Lastman, the first mayor of the "mega city" of Toronto, "jumped the shark" (or "nuked the fridge," as it were) when following the SARS outbreak in 2003, when in a series of interviews with international media, Mel Lastman drew the attention of Jon Stewart and the writers of The Daily Show, who had a field day with such Lastman nuggets of gold like, "Who the hell are these W.H.O. people? I've never heard of them! Apparently, they come from somewhere in Geneva! they must be getting all their information from reading the newspaper."

Leaving aside the fact that whole SARS situation was more Good-Time Slim, Uncle Doobie, and the Great 'Frisco Freak-Out' than legitimate pandemic apocalypse, the best face Torontonians could put on the Lastman punchline was an election in October. No bright spot for not-fans of current Toronto Mayor Rob Ford. With over a year of gaffs in his pocket already, the only people looking forward to the next three years are comedians.

By now, Ford's recent encounter with Mary Walsh and a camera crew from This Hour Has 22 Minutes has become legendary. Ford's assertion was that he was "accosted" by a camera crew that "didn't identify themselves" and the he and "his daughter" were "scared" because it was "dark." Well he was hardly accosted, his daughter wasn't there, it clearly wasn't dark, and the if the crew didn't identify themselves, which they did, Mary Walsh has been playing Marg Delahunty so long she should be on the five dollar bill.

And just like that, Doug became the better brother. I don't like having to pay Doug Ford any tribute, but in this video he did come off better than Rob, if only because he didn't call the police after retreating into City Hall.

But if being seen running from Mary Walsh wasn't bad enough for the Mayor, insult was added to injury when the CBC reported that Ford allegedly abused 911 operators when police action wasn't enacted fast enough for his taste. "You . . . bitches! Don't you f---ing know? I'm Rob f---ing Ford, the mayor of this city!” Ford is quoted as reportedly saying.

Of course, no one's going to confuse Rob Ford with Robert Frost, and such gaffing is hardly outside the ken of Ford, whose list of public faux-pas was recounted in a post on The Grid TO. But the first lesson of PR spin is mess up, fess up and dress up; you screw up, admit the mistake and work to rectify it. Or in this case, you make a mistaken statement about your embarrassing appearance on a comedy show, admit your embarrassment, and then, perhaps, invite to meet the comedienne again and eat some bitter humble pie. But instead, it took the better part of a week to get Ford to admit that he  - might have - exaggerated the offense of the 22 Minutes crew, and that he - might have - swore (like once) at the 911 dispatchers.

Sadly, Ford demonstrates a prime character failing in many politicians: he can't admit his own mistakes. Admitting you did something wrong is weakness, and the millions of stings from media flies is just the liberal media out to get you. But in our media savvy society appearance is everything. And when you say things you know are contradictory, like saying it was dark when it was clearly light, it looks bad enough, to say nothing of the sight of a grown man, chief executive of the largest city in the country, running from a 59-year-old comedienne with a funny accent. Isn't Ford's reputation built, to a degree, on toughness?

Now to bring this thing full circle, Ford had the dubious distinction of being named "Worst Person in the World" on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on Friday. Joining such luminaries as Glenn Beck, Sean Hanity, Bill O'Reilly, and other all stars of the American Right, Ford has landed his city back on the radar of political satire at a time when both the public's patience, and the proverbial fiscal gravy train, has run out for the Ford Brothers. A little PR rejuvenation is now needed, and perhaps, a sense of humour.