John Tory interviews George Smitherman on CFRB radio.Charla Jones/The Globe and Mail
Undeclared mayoral candidate John Tory welcomed newly declared mayoral candidate George Smitherman into the studios of CFRB Newstalk 1010, which is kind of like Jennifer Aniston inviting Angelina Jolie over to the house for crumpets and a chat about Brad.
Only these two don't look as good.
And in the Toronto version of this rivalry, Mr. Tory invited a phalanx of media into the booth beforehand, which caught Mr. Smitherman by surprise and, I hazard to guess, had him steaming under his baby blue collar and pink floral-print tie.
Peppered by reporters' questions before they went live to air - How does it feel to be second in the polls? Should John Tory run against you? - Mr. Smitherman politely shut the media down. "I thought I came here to be interviewed by John and that he let all of you in is a bit of a surprise for me," he said with a thin smile.
"So I'll look forward to talking with you all more later."
After the show, as he walked out of the studio, an unsmiling Mr. Smitherman muttered to the show's producer something about a lack of "professional courtesy."
He also declined a follow-up interview.
But in between was some good old-fashioned politicking, combative ribbing and one segment on the E-Health scandal that provided a glimpse of the battle lines to be drawn over the run-up to next year's municipal election.
"Happy to help boost your ratings," Mr. Smitherman said as he settled into a chair before the microphone.
Mr. Tory responded by presenting the former deputy premier with a "Live Drive with John Tory" T-shirt as the cameras flashed away.
"I'm sure you'll where it everywhere, won't you?" Mr. Tory said.
"Can you hold it up?" Asked a photographer. "Oh, you can get that photo op later," Mr. Smitherman replied.
As the show went live, Mr. Tory asked some pointed questions, each apparently from listeners to the show, including the 10 who e-mailed about Mr. Smitherman's role on the controversial e-health file and the "wasting of a billion on consultants and the like," Mr. Tory said.
Mr. Smitherman defended his record, challenged Mr. Tory on his numbers and accused him of distorting the findings of the province's auditor-general.
"Regardless of what I might say, George, it's going to dog you, because people are writing about it, not me," Mr. Tory said. "I asked you their questions."
"You asked me their questions with your own spin, sir," Mr. Smitherman snapped. "Each of us in public life has a track record. You have one that might have the potential to dog you as well."
During a break for ads, a reporter broke the silence, asking Mr. Smitherman, "How's the hot seat."
"Ask John," he replied as reporters cracked up.
And then, the brief fireworks extinguished, the two men and political rivals used the rest of the break to discuss, of all things, diets, calorie counting and rice cakes.
Mr. Smitherman said he's cut out all meat except for fish since early August. Mr. Tory said he knew of an acquaintance who lost 12 pounds by not eating meat. Mr. Smitherman said he stopped eating bread and pasta as well, and had dropped 30-40 pounds since the summer. "I started eating rice cakes," Mr. Tory noted. "They're actually quite good and they're only 40 calories." Mr. Smitherman said he found a type of rice cake at Whole Foods that is "guilt-free but tasty."
And that's when I thought the pair maybe had more in common with Jen and Angelina than I had first imagined.