Voted Off the Island

The "Mad as Hell" tour will become "MadTV" tomorrow night as Paul Martin addresses the nation. From the sounds of things, Martin will make a 6 minute plea and will be followed by the opposition leaders (well, he'll be followed by Harper, and then everyone will turn over to Survivor at 8. Tough luck Jack!).

What will Paul say? My guess is he won't say he's "mad as hell". He won't say "there was political direction". He won't blame "rogue bureaucrats". He'll likely plead with Canadians to wait until Gomery has finished his report and try and distance himself from the scandal. Is this a good strategy? Hard to say. Normally, going on National TV to turn a scandal involving your own government into a national crisis isn't a good idea but we're so beyond downplaying things at this point that it's likely worth a shot. Desperate times call for desperate measures ("We have nothing to lose but our 25%"). Only problem is, an increasingly confident Stephen Harper will follow him so Canadians will be given a chance to compare the two. Heck, screw Survivor - why not end the broadcast with Ben Mulroney saying:

"If you'd like Paul Martin to be your next Prime Minister dial 1-900-VOTE-PAUL. If you'd like Stephen Harper to be your next Prime Minister dial 1-900-VOTE-STEVE. Then, tune in next Tuesday when I reveal the winner in a special two hour show!"

As a somewhat related offside, both Warren and Wells are on fire today - check 'em our for some real analysis of what has been a wacky week in Parliament. Oh, and Radwanski has been quite good lately as well. Who needs the NHL playoffs when we've got this Parliament to follow, eh?