It pains me to admit it, but I've somewhat secretly and carefully been considering volunteering for one of the Conservative candidates in the upcoming election. There, I said it. I was going along with the notion that you can elect good people and not just play towards the parties all the time. Wrong. Not in Canada. It's about the parties. The people always, in one way or another, are forced to follow the party. Which means they are subject to the social whims of the leader. For me, that means the Conservatives continue to be a non-option. I hate to disagree with Joe Clark's advice, but when the facts about the people begin to come out, things get much clearer. To save the impatient the trouble of scrolling, here's where the decision was made:

He was joined in his criticisms by Conservative MP Rick Borotsik, who said the criticisms show the party lacks generosity, and that Mr. Clark's supporters are the type of conservatives the party needs to attract.

"I don't think anybody should refer to Mr. Clark as a tired old man or as a traitor. They're all wrong," said Mr. Borotsik, who, like Mr. Clark, was an opponent of the deal to merge the Tories and the Canadian Alliance. "You don't slag a man of integrity. That just doesn't make political sense."

Others were less charitable about Mr. Clark, saying he went too far.

A spokesman for former party leadership contestant Jim Prentice rejected Mr. Clark's offer to campaign for Mr. Prentice in his Calgary riding.

Mr. Clark hadn't yet made such an offer in person and "if and when he does, he will be told that it would be inappropriate because Jim does not share his assessment of the leader and the party," Jason Hatcher said yesterday.

A startling day of revelations it has been for me, as over my lunch hour news reads, I've found myself agreeing with John.