Rob Ford is the gift that keeps on giving to Jon Stewart. On Tuesday night's Daily Show, Stewart started out by updating us on the latest antics of the man now commonly referred to as the "crack-smoking mayor of Toronto." The big news is that the Toronto City Council voted to strip Ford of most of his powers, in a meeting highlighted by Ford running over a city councilwoman, for some reason.
The vote to relieve Ford of responsibility was 36 to 5. "Five votes?" Stewart asked incredulously. "Who voted to continue to give this man power?" Ford's defense must have been pretty great to sway five people, Stewart suggested — before running a clip of the mayor comparing the City Council to Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait — which makes him, I guess, the U.S. military? "The reference may be dated," Stewart said, "but in Rob Ford's defense, it may be one of the last things he remembers."
Stewart then circled back to his earlier question: How does Rob Ford have any supporters left in Toronto? To find out, he sent Jessica Williams up to Canada to talk to some locals.
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First, Williams interviewed John Parker, one of the city councilors who voted against stripping Ford of power. It turned out that Parker didn't think the council's motion went far enough, because it invited Ford back after he got his act together. Poor Canadians, Williams said. Unlike their neighbors to the south, Torontonians are not used to, and thus "incapable of, dealing with assholes."
Still, 24 percent of city residents actually support Ford, and Williams went to find out what the hell they're thinking. She found one guy who wants Ford to stay in office because he's fiscally responsible and does what he says he'll accomplish. Williams tripped the guy up with a "Who said it: Rob Ford or Charlie Sheen?" game, but she didn't change his mind.
Maybe Ford's activities just aren't "unusual in Toronto workplaces," Williams suggested — and then went to test out her hypothesis. Poor Canadians. Watch:
After finishing with Ford — for now, at least — Stewart turned to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. That might seem a little out of left field, but the Arab emirate just released the design for its new big soccer stadiums. One of them looks a little like "a giant steel vagina," Stewart observed. He made a bunch of vagina jokes, then turned to senior sports correspondent Al Madrigal on location in Qatar, who had some trouble finding the stadium's, um, "press box." Cue the double entendres:
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