Few things are quite as satisfying to watch as a chastened politician.

You know the image:

Obama after the midterms in his first term as U.S. President when voters sent a bunch of Republicans to congress to establish a balance of power.

Justin Trudeau, staring down a divided country, half of whom are prepared to ride with him, and the western half apoplectic at the very sight of Liberal red.

Premier Doug Ford, so toxic and politically radioactive in so short a time that he had to go into the witness protection program during the federal election, lest someone spotted him and was reminded of 10 reasons not to vote Conservative.

Ford came out of hiding Thursday to conduct his first media interviews in weeks. Unconvincingly, he claimed that he — and he alone — decided to stay out of the federal election campaign, choosing instead to occupy himself with the voluminous duties of fixing the Ontario economy.

Never once did Andrew Scheer ask him not to join Scheer on the campaign trail, Ford told CP24 Thursday. Right from the beginning, Ford said, he told Scheer: “I’m too busy. I can’t get involved. Good luck!”

The people, of course, know that Ford is so unpopular that his federal counterpart, desperate to gain seats in Greater Toronto or lose the election, opted to campaign alone, without the premier’s help, because Ford’s presence was the type of corrosive help no aspiring politician wants.

Now, the Ford clan is a proud, dynastic band. Their modus operandi is to make bold statements repeatedly and double down, even in the face of indisputable facts.

Don’t back down!

Until you must.

Internal opinion polling must be telling Ford to cool it. Appear humble! Swallow your pride and back down on a number of issues, or you are doomed to one term as premier!

And to his credit, Ford has exercised more restraint and discipline than most anticipated.

To save his political hide, of course.

This is all great news. Public opinion does matter. Your vote counts. The citizen can send a message to his elected representative and anticipate behavioural change. This is an attractive thing about our western democracy.

Notice how effortlessly and easily we went through this election campaign. Yes, it got a bit nasty as the politicians wrestled in the mud and called each other names in an attempt to display differences that were often so nuanced that the voter was essentially good with whoever won.

That’s the privilege of being a Canadian citizen. We live in a stable democracy. We can choose to vote Liberal or Conservative or NDP without selling our birthright or destroying our way of life. Yes, the diehard partisan New Democrat considers herself miles apart from a social conservative. But, on so many issues, there are shared values. And where there is real difference we can navigate them. And, if we feel we can’t, we can throw out the buggers in the next election.

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Such privilege.

Our political climate has rarely held such hope for joint visioning and funding for Toronto transit. Imagine if all parties and orders of governments with jurisdiction over Toronto engage together to define transit priorities that meet a consensus business case! Consider the credibility attached to a joint document, signed by all of them, to promote, fund and build that system!

It would save billions of dollars, years of construction time, and many commuting hours for now frustrated citizens.

One-stop or three-stop Line 2 extension to Scarborough?

And if it is the three-stop version the province wants, decide now that it will then turn east on Sheppard to connect with the Sheppard Subway Line 4.

Is the Ontario Line viable? Running it all the way to Don Mills and Eglinton is an amazing addition, but there must be a fix for the above ground section through southeast Toronto.

Which of Mayor Tory’s SmartTrack stations make sense … really, politics aside?

Is the western Eglinton LRT political patronage to satisfy Ford’s Etobicoke constituency or a waste?

And, of course, sign off on the following ideas: the Bloor-Yonge interchange must be fixed; Line 1 extension to Richmond Hill will happen only after the downtown relief line eases the pressure on the Yonge line; gas tax money flowing to Toronto should continue, earmarked for maintenance; all levels of government contribute to the operating and maintenance budget of the TTC, not just capital construction.

At a time when the main federal parties see Toronto transit with similar lenses; at a time when Ford is inclined to co-operate; at a time when Mayor Tory has a chance to set transit on a stable footing for 30 years … the mayor should get these forces together immediately.

Political peace has a short shelf life.

Royson James is a former Star reporter who is a current freelance contributing columnist based in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @roysonjames

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