Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has had better days as he continues to gain notoriety across the globe.

Being a good politician takes finesse. When you look at someone like Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who is very private and reserved, you see a deliberate effort to control the amount of material that can be used against him. Enter Rob Ford. The man is a bull in a china shop. He can turn a charity event into an embarrassment and a photo shoot into a viral video, all before breakfast.

The sheer absurdity of Ford's behaviour in recent weeks has gotten him more publicity than money could ever buy. It began with less disastrous gaffes like reading while driving, and spraining his ankle stepping off of an oversized scale during his short-lived effort to lose weight. His more recent behaviour, however, has been no laughing matter.

His notoriety has increased to the extent that Saturday Night Live opened with a Ford sketch on November 16, and just two days later he had an exclusive on Anderson Cooper 360. A 360 correspondent met with Doug Ford, Rob's brother and Toronto city councillor, and the Mayor himself, at a subsidized housing complex in Toronto to ask Ford about the action taken against him by City Council. Ford had just had his mayoral powers in several areas stripped by a vote of 40-2, with him and his brother the only ones opposed.

The interview was uninteresting as far as revealing any new scandals, but interesting nonetheless because there was a point where, despite his bumbling and standoffish attitude, he actually made sense. Virtually every Ford interview can be summed up with the word “flustered.” The media throngs outside his office by the dozens, and tourists actually come to City Hall hoping to catch a glimpse of the controversial mayor. Amidst all of the chaos, a normal person would be likely to fold and blurt out the first thing that comes to mind. We just aren't used to politicians who are normal people.

Mayor Ford is unapologetic for his in-your- face attitude. It's what makes him popular with his most loyal supporters, and make no mistake, there are still plenty out there. Ford's popularity actually jumped by five per cent upon news that police had obtained the video allegedly portraying Ford smoking an unidentified substance out of a crack pipe.

The media has destroyed Ford's credibility. The general impression of him for anyone outside of the GTA, and many within it, is one of buffoonery. The Anderson Cooper 360 segment was, intentionally or not, vindictive in the way the media typically is. The exception was a short interview with a woman at the subsidized housing complex where the Ford brothers met Anderson's correspondent, Bill Weir. When Weir asked her what message Ford's admission to smoking crack sent to kids, she responded, “You make a, just a little mistake, you can get forgiveness.” While the definition of “little” can only be stretched so far, it's a sentiment that bears a second thought.
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