Cherniak Pulls a Cherniak - Again

Welcome to tonite's drama in three parts:

Part 1: The Rumour

Let's face it. People cheat in politics. It's not a good thing. It shouldn't happen. But it does. The rumour around TO (Let me be very clear; I am not suggesting that the rumour is true. I am only stating that it is out there.) is that Olivia Chow won because NDP supporters from across the city voted early and often at different polling stations in Trinity-Spadina. I don't know if it's true, but just the rumour led the federal Liberals to fight for a new rule that voters must show ID before receiving their ballot.

Part 2: The Rumour - Redux

In hindsight, I wish I had used a less controversial example because the real point was lost in all the yelling. Frankly, though, I didn't realize that so many bloggers were so clueless about the rumours out there.

Part 3: The Quasi Apology

I'll be honest. When I get upset and feel attacked, my initial reaction is to attack back. It certainly doesn't help when most of the people complaining are accusing me of foul play. However, after reading this post and this post by two bloggers who I greatly respect, I have realized that I was wrong.
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...this still does not change the fact that people believe such rumours. The fact that I believed it was reasonable when it is so clearly unlikely has only strengthened my conviction that we need better laws to ensure confidence in our voting system.