I became editor here at the same time the whole Rob Ford crack scandal broke and since then, I've had people ask me from time to time why we haven't addressed it in our editorial.
Quite honestly, it just seemed too easy, plus there were more important local issues to address.
But oh, was it ever tempting. And now folks, I've decided to bite into that forbidden fruit and give my two cents on Rob Ford's circle of smoke in the Big Smoke.
When the whole crack-mayor fiasco took the nation (and late-night TV) this past year, I initially felt bad for Robbie boy.
Really, I did. Here was a guy who was clearly struggling with addiction but seemed to be a decent guy. Rough around the edges? Absolutely. Having immediately regrettable outbursts from time to time? You bet. But all in all, I didn't hate Rob, although I never bought his baloney about saving Toronto taxpayers' millions of dollars.
Plus, I kept thinking about his family; his wife, Renata, and two young children, one of whom mistook the paparazzi swarmed outside their Etobicoke home during the scandal for her dad's friends.
"I thought those people just really liked my dad," she was overheard saying.
Gut-wrenching.
But then, my sympathy for him (and I was in the minority on that, which my friends in Toronto repeatedly rubbed in my face) soon waned.
Why?
Because it became apparent that Rob Ford didn't give a rat's behind about his antics; his crippling addiction to hard drugs and alcohol, his sketchy group of friends, his bizarre public behavior like throwing fistfuls of candy canes at kids during the Christmas parade, telling off-colour jokes, appearing drunk and belligerent at sporting events (repeatedly), being accused of improper conduct and sexual harassment (repeatedly), issuing half-hearted apologies and then doing the same crap all over again.
And of course, all those crack tapes.
It became a farce.
The critical error Rob Ford made was that not seeming genuinely apologetic for his actions. Geez, you don't have to be - you can full on love the bottle or lust for other women, but holy man, don't act like you believe that.
What most politicians who have been caught in embarrassing scandals do is almost routine: Issue a couple of apologetic statements at a press conference with your outwardly supportive (but secretly infuriated) wife standing beside you, retreat from the public for a little bit to give everyone a chance to forget about it and then remerge at a charity luncheon a few weeks later - and maybe kiss a baby for good measure.
Rob Ford is an anomaly.
He didn't do any of this.
He went into full-fledge train wreck mode, embracing his newfound notoriety (or celebrity, as he thinks), desperate for the attention and loving every second of it.
Showing up to sporting events with people chanting "Four more years!", Robbie boy waving and smiling, laughing boisterously, red-faced and sweaty, his little posse of Ford Nation circling him like a boxing champ before he enters the ring.
Popping up at local bars and nightclubs, travelling to Los Angeles to appear on Jimmy Kimmel - it became too much.
He had absolutely no remorse for his actions, for what he was doing to the reputation of Toronto and especially his poor family, dragging their name through the mud as well.
He wasn't retreating back to work on his actions; he was holding court in the thick of it all, the way a person thinks people are laughing with him when they're actually laughing at him.
Rob Ford has to hit rock bottom but the question is: Will he?
In the wake of a new crack video recorded a little over a week ago in his sister's basement, and an audio tape of Ford slurring his words and making misogynist remarks at a local tavern, Ford has finally decided to do what he should have done a year ago: get his round mound to rehab.
Does he want to go? Doubtful; it's pretty obvious he's a hard-partying, larger than life character who enjoys the fast-paced, unpredictable world of parties, booze and drugs.
It's clearly a political decision and I doubt it's laced with any genuine intent to get clean.
The Ford family is notorious for their long history of drug dealing, keeping company with questionable characters and shady business deals. Plus, there's a massive component of denial.
Ford's mother, Diane, recently said she had "no idea" how serious her son's issues were.
What in the - has she been living under a rock with a tarp over it submerged in the bottom of the Atlantic for the past few years?
Anyways, time will tell what happens to Mayor Ford but my guess is that this doesn't end well at all.
And the people who I feel bad for the most are not Rob or his fraternal side-kick, Doug, or his friends or voters, or even his rarely-seen wife.
It's those two kids, who sit at home, confused and scared, wondering if one day their dad will choose to spend an afternoon with them instead of a crack pipe.
CM
