Stop the presses. Freeze the headline. I agree with Rob. this Toronto Star story is bizarre and the spin about the broad-ranging impact of the provincial St. Paul's by-election may be the most over-hyped election story of the summer. That is saying something. Readers of this blog know there have been quite a few. Rob Benzie, the Star reporter who penned this article, is a top-notch reporter and capable political analyst; his sources, however, seem to be overstating things.
When you're the underdog as the Tim Hudak's Tories are here, it is far better to fight hard on the streets and over-perform in the riding than get into any dance in the media about causing an upset in a Liberal stronghold. As Mr. Silver notes, most of this tale seems to be coming from Liberals who might be engaging in a bit of counter-intuitive gaming to rally their own troops as well as setting up the Hudak Tories for a bigger whack than they would normally get if they are not victorious in St. Paul's.