Down with handpicked candidates!

The CBC is reporting on The National tonight that Allan Cutler, star conservative candidate for Ottawa South and the sponsorship whistleblower, was handpicked for the riding, and Alan Ridell - who ran in the riding in 2004 - was disqualified from running this time around to ensure that the star got to run instead.

A head of the Conservative riding association there has called Stephen Harper a "hypocrite" for denouncing handpicked candidates by the Liberals, but engaging in the practice himself.

He's right, of course - isn't that the very definition of hypocrisy?

Of course, I'm against the handpicking of candidates as well, and while I think that we definitely do need more people like Michael Ignatieff - by merit of his academic excellence - and Allan Cutler - by merit of his outstanding ethics - in Ottawa, they should have to contest the nomination just like everybody else, under fair rules which prohibit hostile takeovers and other abuses of the process in riding associations.

I thought Stephen Harper and I were in agreement about this particular issue - I guess we're not.