Tonight le petit gar made his first national campaign appearance on behalf of the Liberal Party of Canada in nearly a decade.
And amidst a cacophony of Dhol drumming and East Indian cheers (led by Sheila Copps, of all people), in a grand catholic school assembly hall in suburban Brampton, Jean Chretien mixed a ringing endorsement of the man he brought to Ottawa a dozen years ago with a somewhat self-serving recitation of his record as prime minister and a thumping denunciation of vous savez qui.
The crowd ate it up, saving a huge roar for Chretien's assertion that while he was keeping Canada out of Iraq, Harper claimed to feel ashamed for being a Canadian. Eventually the former PM introduced “The next Prime Minister.”
Dion nearly lost the room, though, as it took him eight minutes following the intro to find his way into the hall, shaking every proffered hand along the way. His speech was by now so well worn that the press pen featured more than one would be ventriloquist mouthing along. It hardly mattered. Though not as slick and timed to the tenth of a second as the Dippers' show earlier in the day, the Grits showed the power of the brand as more than 2000 Libs bussed in from all over the 905.
At the end, the crowd was mad with delight. Young liberal girls squealed as they took shots of themselves with Dion. Miss Teen Canada stood forlornly by the bus door complete with tiara and sash waiting for a photo op. And the advance guys high-fived and smiled weary smiles with only three days left to go.
