The Tea Makers

George says that he deliberately didn’t cover the Tiger Woods story on The Hour, even though it was significant enough to be reported all over the world.
“I don’t care who you’re sleeping with. Irrelevant to me. I also think it’s disingenuous for the press to go after this particular athlete. Fuck. They’ve been leaving athletes alone for years, as they should.”
“I think sexual politics is boring, dude, to be honest with you.”
“I’m not judging. I don’t care.”

But he had no qualms about having Belinda Stronach as a guest when she was on the front page of every newspaper in Canada after it was revealed that she was named as “the other woman” in Tie Domi’s divorce case.
A double standard?
That’s what George suggests the media is using. But not him.
He claims he never asked her about Tie Domi during his interview with her.

… about, you know, the thing … appreciate your input , it’s none of our business …

The Art of Being a Phoney – Strombo Style

Most TV hosts know that you always want to stay on the good side of the person you’re interviewing. After all, their presence as a guest on your show is pretty much the only reason people are watching, and the ratings have significant bearing on the amount that appears on your paycheque.
You want to be free to ask difficult questions, so that the audience doesn’t accuse you of cowardice and avoiding the issues, but you don’t want to antagonize or make the guest uncomfortable.
So, instead of asking “are you lying”, you say “some people (not me, necessarily!)say you’re lying. How do you respond to that?”
And as the guest answers, whatever their answer, you simply nod your head and move on to the next question.
This technique gives the illusion of absolving you of direct responsibility for the negative or difficult questions.
George uses this method a lot.

Belinda was on the show for one reason only. The apparent affair she was having with Tie Domi.
During preparation for the interview, it’s decided by George and his staff that, while she’s here, we might as well also talk about her life in politics. In fact, it’s important to do so because George wants to give the impression that he’s not really interested in the salacious details of her sex life but rather her political views. The Hour is above wallowing in scandal.
It’s all phoney, designed to give the audience hopefully a different impression than that they’re watching a show whose primary focus is getting the dirt. And it’ll give Belinda a chance to show that she’s so much more than just a slut.

But nothing is as phoney as George’s performance when starting the interview.
All smiley and vague, he tries to force Belinda to complete his questions so that he can say, for the record, he never asked her about Tie Domi.
All he did was shove the newspaper headline in her face and ask “eh, so what’ new?”
He never asked her about Tie Domi, he insists.
But did he?
You decide.

In 2006, as George began appearing in his new national late night time slot he was  full of energy and hype. There was lots of waving a pen around, sticking it under his lips to appear thoughtful, and talking very fast.
In fact, George liked to talk so fast that it could be very challenging to keep up with, let alone follow, his often times confused reasoning.
At one point, he makes the most bizarre statement, directed at Belinda, completely out of context from everything he’s saying.

What the hell is he talking about?
And where does he get off with such arrogance toward Belinda, at the time a Member of Parliament?
The line is thrown into the middle of a question he is posing to her.
It’s a blatantly shocking statement that most people would have reacted to by saying – “what do you mean by that?”, but the serene Ms. Stronach lets it go, as George rattles on, changing the subject.