Think of Robyn Doolittle as a Canadian translator from the world of Rob Ford to the United States. Jon Stewart tried to get Doolittle to help him through a tiny portion of the Ford era on Thursday's Daily Show.
Doolittle, the city hall reporter for the Toronto Star, is making the book tour rounds for Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story.
"What's Canadian for hallelujah," Stewart asks Doolittle on find out she started in January 2010 at the Toronto Star just before the mayoral election.
One of Doolittle's themes for the book is the internal belief within the Ford family that they fancy themselves as a political dynasty.
"Like they're the Kennedys if the Kennedys had all smoked crack," said Stewart."
"They think of themselves as the Canadian Kennedys."
"For real?"
"For real. That's Chapter 2."
Stewart laughs in response.
Doolittle has seen the now infamous crack video. Stewart asked her about what she saw. Doolittle bypassed her own thoughts about the video and focused on her sources, who told her they were impressed by Ford's stamina in his ability to consume what he does.
Stewart has a running theme where Ford will die and die soon if he doesn't get help. I would side with Doolittle's sources; Ford may easily outlive normally healthy people.
Stewart asked Doolittle how Ford has been able to get away with what he has done. Doolittle replied that access laws in Canada make getting information more difficult than in the United States. She referred to an accusation where Ford's wife's (she said Renata, then changed it to Ford's wife since the audience didn't know her name) parents called the police that Rob had taken the children, was drunk driving, and going to the airport. Doolittle couldn't even get the police to admit there was a 911 call.
Doolittle explains to the U.S. audience why Ford has been as popular as he has been. She points out that in Ford's 10 years on the city council that he would return calls and get things fixed for residents and slowly developed this loyal following.
Stewart's reply was that Ford should be Toronto's super.
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Doolittle is very smart to translate the story for U.S. viewers. Whatever Americans might think of Rob Ford, they only know a slight slice of all that Rob Ford has done.
Wendy Mesley interviewed Doolittle earlier in the week on The National. Mesley's oddest question was asking Doolittle how old she was. Doolittle said 29. Mesley's point was whether Doolittle had reached an apex of some kind in her career. Odd questioning: after all, the story is Rob Ford, not Robyn Doolittle.
The Rob Ford part of the Rob Ford story isn't over. While we haven't read Crazy Town: The Rob Ford Story yet, we know enough to know this book is only to catch people up on the story to date.
The Daily Show with Jon Stewart airs on Comedy Central in the United States and the Comedy Channel and CTV in Canada.
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