Rob Ford admits he smoked crack

So it's official. After months of denying it, and after months of claiming to be the victim of a media-led witch hunt, Toronto Mayor Rob Ford has finally admitted that he smoked
crack cocaine.

The CBC is reporting he admitted it in the middle of a media scrum, and as you can see from the graphic, CNN is now leading with it:

“Yes, I have smoked crack cocaine,” Ford said.
“But, no — do I? Am I an addict, no? Have I tried it? Um, probably in one of my drunken stupors, probably approximately about a year ago.”

What really ought to happen now is the guy should do whatever he needs to do to fix himself. Between the drinking, the drugs and the questionable behaviours around questionable people, it's clear to everyone - except him, apparently - that he needs help.

Everything else is superfluous. It's truly sad to watch an implosion in the harsh light of public scorn. It's even sadder when the person in the middle of it fails to realize change is needed.

Once he does, we can all go back to dealing with issues that are a little more relevant to our everyday lives.

Your turn: Thoughts?

Related links:

• Yahoo! Canada - The Daily Brew
• CTV News - Report and video of admission
• YouTube - scrum video of admission
• The Daily Show with Jon Stewart - lead story, November 4, 2013
• The Toronto Star - interactive graphic
• CJAD 800 Montreal - audio
• Yahoo! Canada - Doug Ford, Rob's brother, had earlier demanded police chief Bill Blair's resignation. Ironic, no?
• Rob Ford Incident File - exhaustively researched Google Doc that someone built. Amazing. Hat tip to @ArtVenture_ for sharing.
• American networks are chiming in: ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox
• Wikipedia entry on Rob Ford (updated)
• Foreign Policy blog - Twitter summary