Wag The Dog

In the well-done satirical film Wag the Dog, Robert De Niro and Dustin Hoffman play characters retained by the President of the United States to help with some bad press.

To aid the president, the characters create a fake war and a fake hero. The hero they fake - played by Woody Harrelson - is an unlikely number who left to his own devices would have achieved very little. More than this, the fake hero is in fact a very sick man, and his elevation into the realm of public scrutiny threatens to take down the whole house of cards. 

Does this sound familiar?

The machine behind the Progressive Conservatives lent a big hand to the Ford campaign for Mayor three years ago. They saw in him a likeable guy with a strong popular appeal. In the fake war against the gravy train, Rob Ford was their PC hero.

Left to his own devices, it is hard to imagine that Rob could achieve leading the 6th largest government in the country. Forget the substance abuse and the anger management problems. Who else among political leaders needs his big brother to hold his hand when he talks to the CBC?

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This post is coming to you early because, in the vale of shame where every Torontonian currently dwells, the restorative powers of volunteering have a strong appeal. I'll be up early tomorrow to help clean up the Allan Gardens. 

I leave you with a photo taken on the way to the Wheat Sheaf Tavern after our visit to the food bank last week. 

Thanks for reading! Have a great week!

Karen