The column he might wish he hadn't written

I spent election night on the set of CTV, along with former NDP premier Dave Barrett. Upon hearing projections that STV would not be approved, he, a red-underwear politico, and I, a former public servant who had advised his political foes, shook hands under the decision desk.

-- Norm Spector celebrates the defeat of proposed electoral reforms in B.C. in today's Globe. His main point -- that having lost the referendum, however narrowly, the Yes side cannot simply carry on as if it had won -- is fair enough. But he mars his case by gratuitous slurs on his opponents (Rafe Mair's "ratings are not what they once were," leading Yes supporters such as Gordon Gibson are people "whose political careers had not prospered under the existing rules"). Then there's that ill-chosen anecdote quoted above. It's intended as a picture of two public-spirited men putting aside their political differences to oppose a measure they consider harmful to the province. But the point would surely have been better made had they shaken hands above the desk.