Ex-Gold Medalist Ben Johnson Joins the Rob Ford Re-Election Campaign
Rob Ford, Toronto's colorful mayor, rolled into an press conference Tuesday flanked by an baffling pair of new supporters joining his re-election campaign: disgraced former Olympic gold medalist Ben Johnson and Trailer Park Boys actor Sam Tarasco. After taking an enormous publicity hit from a drug scandal (well, multiple scandals) last year and refusing to resign—though the Toronto City Council did reassign some of his staff and responsibilities—Mayor Ford appears to be doubling down on his less-than-squeaky clean image.
By publicly unveiling this crack squad (layup, I know) of re-election support, Mayor Ford seems to be banking on the fact that Canada's largest city will be casting their votes based on what will be the best sitcom plot above, politics, aesthetics, or common sense.
While it's feasible that Johnson, who enjoyed a three-day reign as the 100m gold medalist in Seoul '88 before getting busted for a synthetic anabolic steroid, could serve as Ford's drug scandal consigliere in private, tapping him as well as the guy who plays a character called "The Caveman" for public support is a bold strategy indeed. Johnson lost a gold medal once, but maybe he can save Mayor Ford's.
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