It seems crass even to suggest it, when a life was lost and others were very nearly ruined. But the reality is that Michael Bryant might actually have a brighter political future now than appeared to be the case a year ago.
It's true, as many reports have stated, that Mr. Bryant was a rising star before his tragic altercation with Darcy Allan Sheppard. But what's been overlooked is that it was long before. By that fateful night last September, he was on the outs with his own provincial party - or at least the people leading it - and his career had gone sideways.
The qualities that made Mr. Bryant a media darling also made him decidedly unpopular among many senior Liberals. He was seen as too flashy, too impatient, and too superficial in the ways that he handled his files - and was said to be getting more so with his time in cabinet. There were rumblings that the attention he got for some of his showier moves, most notably the province's controversial pit-bull ban, went to his head.
He was also more transparent than most other potential leadership aspirants in pining for Premier Dalton McGuinty's job, which may have been the biggest cause of friction.
So Mr. Bryant was demoted from attorney-general to aboriginal affairs after the Liberals won a second term in 2007, worked his way back up to economic development, but seemed to be on track for another demotion before quitting provincial politics. Although his departure was cast in the media as a blow to Mr. McGuinty - and in some ways it was, since he lost one of his few strong communicators - the Premier was clearly glad to see the back of him.
Mr. Bryant seemed to be biding his time running the new Invest Toronto agency started by Mayor David Miller, as he waited for his shot at the leadership. He still had some very committed supporters, along with friends in high places (as evidenced by a stay last summer at Michael Ignatieff's Stornoway residence). But he probably rubbed too many Liberals the wrong way to ever emerge as a consensus choice to lead them.
It didn't help that he seemed to have decided to maintain his public profile by being as flamboyant as possible, turning up at interviews presenting his hulking red watch as his "Liberal bling." Having once presented himself as a serious-minded, Harvard-educated lawyer and professor, he was on the verge of becoming a cartoon character.
Then came the horrific, life-changing encounter with an angry cyclist that in an instant stripped away all the frivolity. And now, nine months later, he's been given a chance to reinvent himself again.
Cleared of all charges in Mr. Sheppard's death, Mr. Bryant has emerged - to some eyes, at least - as a more sympathetic figure.
Yes, there will always be questions about his judgment that night, even after his legal win. But there's also talk that, having been forced to rethink his priorities, he's emerged more humble and mature.
He could quickly disprove that, by picking up right where he left off. But it's perhaps encouraging that, having rarely before seen a camera he didn't like, he's been turning down media requests since his news conference after the charges were dropped.
If he were to stay out of the spotlight for a while, and come back with less bling and a more focused sense of what he stands for, he could yet emerge as a broadly popular figure within his party - positioning himself for a shift to federal politics, or that long-considered leadership run, or whatever else might appeal to him.
Few can resist a good comeback story. If Mr. Bryant returns to political heights, it will be portrayed as overcoming the odds after his legal travails. But it will be just as much about how those travails forced everyone - himself included - to reconsider who he really is.
Adam Radwanski