Unbelievably, Mike Duffy is a hero. Two days ago, he looked like the archetypical insider crook. Today he is the only known case of someone publicly defying Stephen Harper and living to tell the tail. That's bad for business. Queue the counter-attack. Not that anything besides monumentally stupid incompetence by the PMO could have restored Duffy's reputation to the point where a counter-attack is necessary or viable.
The worst possible outcome of this scandal is that it could get attached to the Prime Minister personally. His party is known for enthusiastic betrayal when the leader shows some blood. Like The Man Who Would Be King. And the suspension might have passed last week, but its gone now. Total defeat for the PMO and tar all over the PM.
The most fascinating thing is that the only story having a ring of truth is Duffy's. That he's a self-serving crook makes his story even more credible. He knows what he's talking about. It looks like the $90,000 was a straightforward bribe, the Prime Minister knew about it, and probably approved it. And who created this Duffy monster? Stephen Harper, in one of his more transparently cynical moves as PM. His cunning, paranoia and vindictiveness have finally come back to stab him deeper than any enemy could have.
