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A day or so after my arrival at Queen’s Park to cover the Ontario legislature for the National Post, a bearded, rangy, 30-something beanpole of a man unfolded himself on the ratty old office couch.

That was my introduction to Gerald Butts. It was 2003, he was the principal secretary to the leader of the Opposition, Dalton McGuinty, and his office was kitty corner to mine.

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He spent most of his day spinning the reporters of the Queen’s Park press gallery like tops. The architect of McGuinty’s victorious platform, he made sure the leader of the Opposition’s office was moved to the point farthest away from the press gallery, after taking power.

Butts still spins the small band of journalists on Parliament Hill he talks to regularly.

He and I don’t often agree and I like to think I have developed a journalistic white blood cell count that makes me immune to his progressive bacillus.

But he is very persuasive — one of the three smartest people I have dealt with in Canadian politics (the others being Stephen Harper and former Bank of Canada governor David Dodge).