Clearly David Emerson has replayed the battle in his mind. What if he had contested the recent federal election as a Conservative instead of running as a Liberal and then jumping immediately to the Conservative side? Since the actual Conservative candidate won only 18 per cent of the vote in Vancouver Kingsway, it's possible that Mr. Emerson might have been tromped. It's possible that, if he had run as a Tory, he would have faced a Liberal opponent who did just what he did: urge New Democrats to vote for the Liberals to keep the Conservatives out of power. It's possible that the riding, known in recent decades for voting NDP or Liberal, would have thrown him out even though he had done good work in the Liberal cabinet.

Well, Mr. Emerson says, not so fast. "I actually do think I could probably win an election as a Conservative," he said yesterday on CTV Newsnet. But he indicated he wasn't planning to run because, after all, there aren't parliamentary rules requiring him to. "The whole issue of whether a by-election or part of the next general election, of course, is a point of some debate."

It's reminiscent of the unwilling brawler who urges his friends to hold him back so he won't pulverize some guy, even as he silently prays they won't let go. But it's encouraging to know that Mr. Emerson, who was rewarded by Prime Minister Stephen Harper with the post of International Trade Minister for turning his back on those who voted for him, isn't worried about meeting those voters again. No doubt those voters would love to meet him again, too. And he shouldn't wait for rules to require him to do the right thing. He should make this his next public statement: I actually do think I should probably run in a by-election as a Conservative.