As I wrote yesterday “about 24 hours, or less.”  It was a political certainty and Mr. Giambrone has taken the only path available to him. Enough said.

Now we all owe Mr. Giambrone the respect and privacy he deserves.

Like Tiger, Mr. Giambrone has some soul searching to do but not until the full impact of this ordeal has hit him. It hasn’t yet. That will come when the camera lights go out, media attention and the blogosphere refocuses elsewhere, and he finds himself thinking private thoughts in the wee hours of the morning.

That process may or may not involve Ms. McQuarrie in tow. I suspect it wont. But that too, like Tiger and Elin, is a private decision none of us has the right to invade or judge.

Mr. Giambrone, while I have never met the man, is obviously an intelligent and ambitious young public figure. Mr. Giambrone is not the first, nor the last, individual whose actions can be explained by the role of the hidden brain.

Say what you wish, but the TTC is a world class organization that is not without its positive markings from Mr. Giambrone’s contributions and influence. With time, he will reincarnate.

Time now to put yet another divergent, and unfortunate, story to rest.

Tags: Dan Baril personal website and blog

The Globe headline “Giambrone to stay in mayoral race despite ‘inappropriate relationship’” has about as much shelf life as an open can of tuna. I’d say about 24 hours, or less.

It’s one thing to be brazenly optimistic. It’s quite another to be completely utterly politically naive. As soon as Mr. Giambrone comes to fully appreciate the gravity of his public predicament, he will be forced to do the only thing which public opinion will otherwise take care of in very short and brutal order.

Don’t get me wrong, the Toronto electorate is on a different curve when it comes to “house on the prairie” values. No other city in Canada has a adult classifieds listing longer than the used car section. The city is likely filled with a disproportionate share of everyday folk who think it’s okay to have one partner for getting elected and another for getting erected. No argument here.

But when otherwise every day people come out from under whatever particular fantasy turns their crank, they still have to be fine upstanding citizens who hold honest jobs, raise families, pay taxes, and when called upon to do so, elect best suitable candidates to public office. Toronto may be as avant-garde as they come, but folks still vote and fantasize with different parts of the brain.

It doesn’t take more than a scant read of the comments section the Star to assess how public opinion is reacting to the Giambrone story. Some of the very same people who may share an equivalent fantasy, or reality, will condemn sanctimoniously when given the opportunity. What better pretence than the safety and security offered by an anonymous comments section?

The Globe’s usually politically seasoned Adam Radwanski must have a personal stake in this issue, for it seems according to todays post he’s “just fine” with it because “it’s difficult enough to attract good people to run for office.” Excuse me? Canada’s biggest city is so void of public office talent that Giambrone’s behaviour is something to overlook because there is no one else?

Some may argue this space appears to apply a double standard when it comes to Tiger Woods versus Adam Giambrone. Not entirely the same situation. When Mr. Giambrone can shoot 64 from the back tees he’ll have my vote to play in the Masters, and if Tiger emerges to run for Mayor of Toronto he won’t.

Tags: Dan Baril personal website and blog