So we had an election last night, did you know that? I assume you already know the results. (Liberal minority, tight races, yadda yadda.) Some random thoughts thereon:

Liberal candidate I’m most sorry to see lose: Glen Murray (Charleswood—St. James). I knew he shouldn’t have quit as mayor of Winnipeg to run federally. He was the best mayor Winnipeg has had in decades. And who told him that that was a safe seat? It’s a seat that expects and rewards constituency work: that’s how Harvard owned it all these years, not by being Liberal. (How else do you think we put up with Dangerous Dan McKenzie all those years? Because we frigging agreed with him? Ha.)

Liberal candidate I’m most sorry to see win: Jean Lapierre (Outremont). For the obvious reasons.

Former Young Liberal associates: It’s a disconcerting thing to see people who I knew when I was — I must confess — a member of the Young Liberals (1988-1992) now running for office. I mean, I’ve seen some of these guys drunk. Expected: John Bethel (Edmonton East) and Bill Cunningham (Burnaby—Douglas) losing. Unexpected: Ruby Dhalla — who must’ve been under 16 when I first met her — winning in Brampton—Springdale.

Strategic voting: It cost the NDP seats, as left-leaning voters held their nose and voted Liberal in terror of the Conservatives. Look at the results in North Vancouver and West Vancouver—Sunshine Coast: disproportionately high Liberal votes; disproportionately low NDP votes. But it backfired in Saskatchewan, where vote-splitting on the left — irony, that — put 13 of 14 seats in Conservative hands. Bottom line: second-guessing doesn’t work, you spineless pussies.