When I say 'Puffy', I'm not just talking about his weight

Watching Senator Mike Duffy's disgraceful performance on CBC yesterday, it's hard to imagine how he managed to keep all that bombast and vitriol in check for all those years as a journalist. It must be such a great relief for him to finally be able to let loose and tell us what he really thinks.



This is, of course, only the latest in a long series of embarrassing episodes since the appointment of His Puffiness to the Upper Chamber. From his crude and belaboured musings on the imaginary bedtime antics of the Premiers of P.E.I. and Newfoundland, to his participation in a fake 'town hall' promoting his Glorious Leader's political policies, Mike Duffy has probably done more to damage and denigrate the institution of the Senate in his few months tenure than years of attacks by those dedicated to its abolition.

And that, of course, is why he was appointed in the first place.

Meanwhile, Liberal MP Glen Pearson tells us about the real Peter Stoeffer, and points out exactly who is the faker here.

Duffy Burns His Journalist Card, Crushes His Last Remaining Scruple

I have a very serious problem with this:

The presentation will be moderated by Senator Mike Duffy, a former television journalist, and feature Harper, flanked by Human Resources Minister Diane Finley and Gary Goodyear, the local MP and Minister of State for Science. It will include a staged interview segment between Harper and Duffy.

What this means is that the Canadian public, after years of thinking of Friendly Mike Duffy as some sort of a journalist, will see him "interviewing" the Prime Minister about the wonderful job the government's been doing and will be more inclined to believe what they are hearing because... well, it's Duff! Even if they know that Duffy is now a Conservative Senator who no longer has to even pretend to be unbiased (and they may not), the impression is still there.

Sadly, the whole 'report card' demand was left far too open to this kind of manipulation from the get-go. The thing should be presented in Parliament, not on TV. And certainly not on CTV.