Martin CTD Watch.

When I was in law school, my contracts and health-care law professor was also a ride-along on ambulance calls. Not as a practicing attorney with card in hand, but some sort of active participant and advisor (He, Aidan Gough, served as a consultant and adviser to many health care organizations, was the first recipient of the Santa Clara County Medical Society's Award for Outstanding Service to Medicine and was awarded the National Emergency Distinguished Service Award in 1987). And a very funny man. Anyway, he told us that when a patient is all but dead, the nurses write "CTD" on the chart.

CTD - Circling the drain. Just make him comfortable. No more hope.

With that in mind, and knowing the blood in the Canadian waters is being well handled by our blogger friends in the North Country, I have drifted back to keeping up to date on the matter but not fixated - not writing in my dreams and sitting bolt upright at 2:00 AM.

My first source this morning was all I needed: The Toronto Star reports that it is all over but the dirt-filled shovel. Martin is CTD.

The Liberal MP's are linking issues - AdScam and Same-sex marriage - and talking of leaving the party. Martin vows to continue to dig his own grave deeper and deeper until he finds the rockbed: "When I put the Gomery Commission into place, I understood that there would be political consequences. I was under no illusion about that. But calling that inquiry into place was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do then and it is the right thing to do now," Martin added.

Of course he says these things. How could he not? To bail is to admit defeat. To continue is to live to fight another day.

But the only issue needed to be understood is this: It does not matter how you viewed your job as Finance Minister. It does not matter how oppressive Chretien was or could be at times. It does not matter who tried to keep you out of the loop. You were given signature authority on the checkbook. You were told to watch over Canada's finances. You cannot nuance those basic facts away. Chretien will be tarnished, perhaps several key players will emerge, and you will go down as well.

You're circling the drain, Paul, and everyone knows it. Soon your voice will be an echo, then {poof!}.

Ahhhhh, unless!!! Yes, do the unexpected!!! For once, accept responsibility personally. Tell Canada that you had no idea but that is irrelevant. It was on your watch. Enlist them instead of pushing them away. If it doesn't work, you lose your job; if it does, you may keep it. What's to lose? Your job is already toast.