If all those who have lavished praise on John Tory since he stopped running for public office had expressed similar admiration when he was running, the former Ontario Progressive Conservative leader and candidate for Toronto mayor would have had one of the longest elected careers in the province’s history.

To say this is not to lament that he failed to get the praise he deserved when it mattered, but merely to point out that many who assess politics, including news media, vilify people when they run, sometimes to promote their own interests, but expect to be taken at face value when they sing their praises, after the careers are over and they no longer threaten themselves and those they support.

Toronto media in particularly have almost elevated Tory to sainthood since he effectively ended his hopes for an elected career in politics by announcing that he will not run again for mayor.

He is 55, there will be no place for him in his provincial party soon and he dropped so many hints that he would run for mayor that he would not be believable if he said it again.

Now that Tory has retired, the Toronto Star, Canada’s biggest paper, has given its verdict: that he is intelligent, experienced, balanced and competent, and those who tagged him a loser were unfair.

The Star could claim that it praised Tory, when he ran for leader in 2004 and called him the Conservatives’ best choice. But this is a paper that almost invariably supports the Liberals in elections and whose primary aim in life is not helping an opposing party choose a leader who will beat them.

The Toronto Maple Leafs would have more credibility suggesting who should coach the Montreal Canadiens.

During the 2007 election campaign, the Star was calling Tory’s policies unreal and shoddy and good reason for voters to keep Liberal Premier Dalton McGuinty, which they did.

The paper later suggested that Tory may be “the best premier Ontario never had,” but this was after he had lost the election.

The Star said more recently that Tory failed provincially because he inherited a dying party, bound by unwanted policies, and his departure was a loss for the legislature. But where was this friend when he needed it?

The Globe and Mail, which mostly has been Conservative, said after Tory left that respect for him remained intact and he had been a worthy champion of sensitive, conservative politics and in many ways an ideal leader, because he entered political life out of concern for the public. But, when Tory was leader, it said he failed to differentiate his party from the Liberals and misunderstood the aspirations of Ontarians, particularly by wanting to fund more religious schools.

The Toronto Sun said it was sorry to see Tory quitting, because he had great integrity and may have been the best mayor Toronto never had. But when Tory was leader, the usually Conservative newspaper often gave him lukewarm support, feeling he was too moderate.

This was even more true of the ultra-right-wing National Post, which lamented, “who will stand up for fiscal responsibility?” after Tory left, but previously felt he was too feeble a conservative.

Politicians similarly are ready to praise rivals after they have gone. George Smitherman, the former deputy premier now running for mayor here, said after Tory announced he would not run that he had many good qualities, but while he was Conservative leader had called him “chicken-hearted” for refusing to run in the legislature seat Smitherman held.

Bob Rae, then New Democrat leader, broke a precedent by striding across the legislature floor and declaring to retiring Conservative premier William Davis, “want to shake your hand,” although he rarely had a good word for Davis before this.

Those who criticize politicians often soften their stand when people retire, because they want to appear magnanimous and open-minded, and may even feel they are clearing their consciences.

Sometimes they remember more the good sides of those they have criticized, but often they merely are trying to make themselves feel good.