Tory's rep in tatters; Wynne looks like a winner

Back in April, John Tory looked like a probable future premier. People liked him and trusted him and his judgment.

Where did it all go so wrong?

Tory came into the leadership riding a white horse, representing truth, honor, fairness, and square shooting. We could trust this clean cut boy scout with our future, secure in the knowledge he would always do what was right and decent and sensible and he would never, ever, ever break a promise.

I thought he'd be the next premier. Didn't you?

Against him was Dalton. Earnest, well meaning, plodding Dalton, the boy next door you could trust to shovel your walk, take in your paper, keep his hands off your daughter and behave himself regardless of the provocation. Tory you wanted to shake hands with and wish him well in the premier's job and Dalton you wanted to pat on the head and have him go home until he grew up to be a perfect small town doc.

Right? Tell me you thought differently. Baloney.

Eventually, the Tories announced their platform. 244 promises, nothing costed, nothing very appealing (Christina Blizzard of the Toronto SUN called it a snooze so you know how bad it was). Tucked in a corner was funding for private religious schools. A large ho hum greeted this "platform" around the province, although mutterings of concern about the funding of private religious schools were heard. But who cared in March? The election was a long way away.

With great fanfare Tory announced he was running against Kathleen Wynne, the extremely competent and very highly regarded new education minister. "What was that about?" was the question on everyone's lips. Of all the seats in Toronto, why was he taking on one of the most competent members in Queen's Park? And a woman to boot. This from a guy who promised he would get more women into the Legislature.

Was it because a woman is easier to beat, John, easier to dismiss? Well, then why? And don't give us that crap about you lived there all your life. Many Tories asked you to look elsewhere but, as we've learned, you don't welcome advice nor take it well.

Tory's only "star" candidate, Andy Pringle, has chosen to run against another solid Liberal woman, Donna Cansfield. So with a lot of weak men to run against, why did Tory choose to have himself and Pringle run against two competent women who have done a great job?

That promise about supporting more women for the Legislature? Okay, even if we ignore your moves against Wynne and Cansfield, there's no getting around the killing of Effie Triantafilopoulos.

You might think Pringle was your star candidate but he isn't. Ms Triantafilopoulos was. She was superb candidate and John Tory simply blew her off for a fatous white fart in a suit.

Ms Triantafilopoulos was the CEO of Save the Children Canada and before that she was executive director of the Canadian Corporate Counsel Association. Highly respected, and a real catch for the Tories, John Tory swept her aside and handed the nomination on a silver platter to Tim Peterson, the Liberal turncoat who fled to the Tories when it was clear he hadn't enough talent to ever be put in cabinet.

The spector of this mediocre male being embraced by John Tory at the expense of a really good woman is as shabby and squalid as anything we've seen in public life. Tory pitched Ms Triantafilopoulos on the political scrap heap with nary a second thought.

There's a disturbing pattern here in the treatment of women. The Tories have done almost nothing to try to attract good women and a promise to promote women has been broken without a second thought.

Against this unsettling background, the private religious schools funding began to be discussed and the province exploded as people focused on it. More than 70% of voters disagree very strongly with Tory. At least three of his own candidates have said they'll vote against it if they form the government. Tory can't explain how he'll fund it without taking money from the public system, how it will work, what it will cost, what religions are covered - the list goes on and on. Tory has been hammered on every side by people telling him "JOHN, IT"S A BAD IDEA".

Tory has been warned it will pitch education into turmoil again, and will cause strife from one end of the province to another. It seems to have no impact on him.

Tory claims Bill Davis as his hero and role model but sadly it is John Diefenbaker he resembles: rigid, unbending, arrogant and unwilling to listen to others. Diefenbaker's time in office was the most dysfunctional period in modern Canadian history, until Harris came along. Now Tory is throwing off a multitude of signs that he may be the champion dysfunctional leader of all.

At the point where everyone is worrying about leadership, the character issue comes to the fore and what everyone thought was Tory's strong point is proving to be his achilles heel.

Tory promised he would never go negative and would conduct himself with integrity and honor. But John Tory is the man behind the most scurrilous ad we've ever seen in this province. The Jane Creba ad plays on the tragedy of a Toronto family and rakes up the death of this young woman and renews all the pain her family and friends experienced just so the Tories can score cheap shots against the Liberals. John Tory is solely responsible for this filthy piece of political propaganda. Shame on you Tory, shame on your hypocrisy, shame on your lack of sensitivity and compassion and shame on you for breaking your promises about conduct and integrity to the people of Ontario.

Another character issue?

His high handed behavior over the debate on Rogers TV Thursday night. He had promised to take part in a debate with Kathleen Wynne on Goldhawk. Thousands and thousands of voters in Don Valley West were tuned in to watch these two people have at the most compelling issue of the campaign. Wynne was there. So was the Green Party candidate.

Tory?

He didn't even show the basic courtesy to call Goldhawk and let him know he wouldn't be there. He just didn't show up.

No sorry, no apology, no nothing. But maybe broken promises only count against others.

On Friday when reporters questioned him about it, he bristled with indignation and blew off the criticism as "silly". Imagine people thinking he ought to keep his promise and show up - or suggesting that at the very least he owed an apology and an explanation. "Let them eat cake?" The arrogance is staggering.

He'll be in the riding on Sunday for the one and only appearance in front of the people he wants to represent. And maybe 250 people will see the debate but that's far fewer than thousands who could have seen them on TV. Certainly it limits the political damage if he doesn't do well but it's bad judgment, bad manners and bad behaviour, which are becoming the signature of Tory's campaign.

For me, however, the coup de grace came this morning with coffee and the Globe.

Now I understand why me and more than half the province don't "get" the private religious school funding. The reason we all oppose it is because "People are generally ill-informed," Mr. Tory says.

Thursday's snub of Don Valley West voters was bad, but this - this is beyond belief. We don't agree with his policies and it's because "people are generally ill-informed"?

Well, give him this, he doesn't pull his punches. He thinks we're all dopes and he says so in plain English in Canada's national newspaper.

Note this though, John - we're just smart enough to know an arrogant, egotistical loose canon when we see one.

Leadership matters? Yeah, it does, which is why boring, dull old Dalton will still be premier on Oct 11. We may be dumb but we expect the premier to consider our views with respect and to be treated with respect by people who want our vote.

Don Valley West? I think the voters there are just smart enough to know real leadership when they see it. Kathleen Wynne has demonstrated leadership at every turn. People in Don Valley West want a real leader and John, you clearly ain't one. Wynne wins, it says here, and she deserves to.