Mayor Rob Ford of Toronto is trying to make for a bit of damage control these days, that after reviews of his X-rated, expletive deleted phone call to Toronto's 911 service began to surface.
Ford, seemingly in fear for his personal safety upon an ambush by Princess Warrior Marg of 22 Minutes fame, hightailed it back to the homestead to make a number of anxiety steeped phone calls to the emergency phone centre for Metro Police.
And, while as a parent, we can understand his concern over his six year old daughter who it seems was quite scared by all the commotion in the family driveway, perhaps his Worship could have handled it all with a wee bit less drama (and expletives).
We're still not quite sure why a fellow who seems to project the image of a man afraid of no one, would be reduced to the state of taking his fears out on a telephone operator.
Clearly the television cameras should have given him some understanding of what was going on and after safely returning his daughter to the home, one wonders why he didn't return to the driveway if for no other reason than to explain to the crew of the CBC program the right and wrong time to launch an ambush interview.
There is some blame to be given to the program's producers, while the ambush of politicians is always entertaining fare, and a particular feature of 22 minutes, there are limits to that kind of project, escorting ones child down a driveway should be a clue to producers that it's not the best time to launch the attack.
For the CBC which is finding itself under more and more scrutiny these days, whether from the pulpit addresses of Don Cherry, to what seems to be a blood feud with Quebecor, the attention to its guidelines in proper form of interview probably isn't timely.
So with that out of the way, on to his worship, his reaction to the whole escapade certainly doesn't reflect well on his rather strong willed nature, in short, perhaps he should have Manned up and taken to the driveway to dress down the fashionably attired Princess Warrior.
Instead, a bad situation got a lot worse with his tirade to the 911 staff, a strange little display that surely have some of Toronto's voters wondering what the hell they were thinking on election day, or as the Mayor might say, what the %$^# they were thinking.
Ford who seems to have all the social skills of a hermit crab, certainly hasn't won himself many fans over recent months and we imagine this latest event won't do much for the declining popularity.
All in all, we imagine that his phone skills will be under the microscope and resonate across the Toronto political scene for months, if not years to come.
To be honest though, we're rather surprised at his call to Metro Police for assistance, as past precedence for Toronto's Mayors suggests that when put in a panic induced state, you skip the police and go straight to the Canadian Armed Forces...
It's said that for politicians, any publicity is good publicity as long as your name is spelled correctly, somehow we don't think that holds true for Mayor Ford in this instance.
Back a few decades ago, a popular acronym for FORD was FIX OR REPAIR DAILY, alluding to problems of the era with the automobile of the name. That Ford, now one of the leading car makers in the world repaired their image quite nicely.
This Ford, it would seem has a bit of work to do.
Globe and Mail-- The mayor, the ambush and the unfortunate F-bomb
Globe and Mail-- Toronto Mayor Rob Ford apologizes for profanity in 911 call
Globe and Mail-- Games people don't play: It's ulcer time at the CBC
Globe and Mail-- Why Rob Ford called 911 on CBC
National Post-- Rob Ford and the CBC's condescending inside baseball
National Post-- What the #!%* did Rob Ford say to the 911 operator?
National Post-- "I apologize for expressing my frustration inappropriately: Rob Ford
National Post-- Rob Ford makes a bad situation worse
CBC-- Rob Ford denies calling 911 dispatcher names
CBC-- Jian's essay on Rob Ford's 22 minutes of fame
Toronto Star-- Mayor to dispatch: I'm annoyed
Toronto Star-- Pressure mounts for Mayor Ford to release tape of 911 call
Toronto Star-- Who leaked mayor's 911 call?
Toronto Sun-- Ford miffed at CBC troupe
Toronto Sun-- Ford says he didn't swear at 911 dispatcher
Toronto Sun-- Ford's statement about CBC ambush, 911 call
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