Teflon Paul?

The first phase of the Gomery Commission came to an end today, as the Judge released his report on the sponsorship program in the Province of Quebec. The big event was treated with much glee by the news networks of Canada, which treated the days events like a life altering experience we all should be enthralled with. Well, ok, we'll try to keep up to speed, but to be truth, scandal coming out of Ottawa seems to be a rather old routine now, so even Mike Duffy and Don Newman had their work cot out for themselves today.

For Paul Martin, the day dawned as a relatively good one, with an advance Halloween eve copy of the report for some bedtime reading (the PM must be a hell of a speed reader cause that's one thick book there) Martin was fully aware that the sticky goo that has become the sponsorship program, would not be landing anywhere near him by the end of the day.

Judge Gomery proclaimed that the current Prime Minister was absolved of blame in his investigation, having been kept in the dark on the intricacies of sponsorship. Being a virtual mushroom of the Chretien era finally had its benefits it would turn out. Gomery found no skeletons in the Martin closet, nothing to point a finger in his direction. Even if a good portion of the public still probably find it hard to believe that a Finance Minister wouldn't have noticed a few million dollars being directed in various directions, not all of them wholly proper.

Taking the cue that a good defence is a strong offence, the Prime Minister announced at his press conference that he had banished a number of Liberals from the party for their involvement in the sponsorship mess. Hoping that his direct and determined action will recapture some support in the Province of Quebec.

Nope, for Martin Tuesday was vindication day it seems, his handling of the crisis thus far is the proper thing, judging by the judges voluminous findings. In fact if you were to look for someone that might want to wear the coat of shame, look for a crony of the former Prime Minister, a Corriveau, Pelletier or a Gagliano. They were pointed to as people, that should have shouldered responsibility for not being proactive in the program, letting the sponsorship program spiral out of control and into the debacle that has poised the Liberal party on the verge of a total civil war.

But by far the harshest criticism seems to have been reserved for Jean Chretien, who while not accused of any criminal intent was painted as a careless supervisor of the staff, apparently uninterested in what his minions were doing under the guise of National unity.

There probably was a small amount of satisfaction for the Judge in his report, considering the antagonistic bit of theatre he and the former PM enjoyed during their last meeting. Mr. Chretien may have got the laughs at the hearing, but Judge Gomery had everyone's attention on Tuesday.

By the days end however, the intrigue thickened as the former PM had stepped up to the microphones at the National Press Club and stated that he had just begun to fight. Rejecting the findings and making plans for an appeal to Federal Court.

Who knows where all this is eventually going to lead to, but the short term will have no shortage of excitement. Open warfare between warring Liberal factions should prove to be an interesting bit of theatre, a former PM fighting to clear any hint of suspicion on his years in power and the media beast salivating at the chance to break open stories on a number of fronts. Don, Mike, Kevin, Lloyd and Peter, all have some interesting times ahead of them, as do we if we care enough anymore to keep track of it all.