Rob Ford's political future might not be as a future prime minister, but a little further south. Ford is taking advantage of his celebrity to establish an image on U.S. media airwaves.
And the U.S. media is helping him out.
They are eager to get Ford in front of the cameras, CNN and Fox most notably. Sure they will ask Ford about the alcohol and the crack. But they won't ask Ford about the allegations of communication with a known prostitute, hanging out with gang members, the police investigation where Ford allegedly received packages in the middle of the night, and paying the light bill for a crack house.
They won't ask about the alleged homophobic and racist comments Ford made in the infamous crack video. Jon Stewart hinted at them, but only to say that racist comments in a crack house wouldn't go over well.
They won't ask, as CBC's Peter Mansbridge did, about the police investigation of Alexander (Sandro) Lisi, Ford's occasional driver, who is facing extortion charges connected to trying to get the infamous video.
They won't ask about the subway vs. light-rail battle, delaying much needed transportation options. Nor will they ask about any issue that actually affects the City of Toronto.
Previous coverage:
Rob Ford makes negative impact on Toronto's Grey Cup quest
Rob Ford: Liability to Toronto Argonauts
To be fair, these U.S. journalists don't know enough about the whole Ford issue to ask. Chances are though, even if they did, Ford would be safe from their questions.
Jessica Williams of "The Daily Show" went to Toronto to ask why Ford still has a quarter of the support in Toronto, according to recent polls. Ford's support down south would be higher now and in the future. After all, Ford's base in Toronto knows more about Ford than the equivalent in the States, and they still support him. Imagine a base that likes what Ford has to say, and doesn't know all the details.
Before the crack allegations, Ford and his brother, Doug, had a Sunday radio show on Newstalk 1010 where they took callers, mostly positive, on a call-in show. The brothers even got a shot at a reality show from the right-wing Sun 'News' Network.
Well, the Ford brothers lost the radio show. And even the Ford-friendly Sun 'News' bailed out on them after the first episode of the TV show.
So Rob Ford has lost the right-wing Canadian media show. The fact that the Ford brothers sat down with Peter Mansbridge is how desperate they are to try and get out their message.
Rob Ford has none of these issues with the U.S. media. He'll get treated in a softball way by reporters who don't know 90% of the facts or won't share them with their "American" audience. And Ford will get a lot more love from Tea Party type followers south of the border.
If Ford takes the plunge after October 2014 (or sooner), Canada's loss will be, well, Canada's loss. The one thing Ford won't get down south is being that unusual. Ford will blend in better than he might think in the States, and not stick out like a sore thumb in Toronto and Canada.
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