Former NDP Premier Bob Rae "will always be the man who suffered one of the greatest political humiliations in Canadian history, kicked out of office after one term by Ontario voters who had had more than their fill of his scandal-plagued government," Murray Campbell writes in his profle of the former Ontario premier A new day for Bob Rae: 'I am what I am'
"So his decision to re-enter the political world by running for leader of the federal Liberal party has sparked a thriving industry analyzing his motives: Is it boredom with private life? Is he seeking redemption?"
But the answer may in fact be simpler and more pragmatic, Mr. Campbell writes. He is what he is. And he is a politician.
Mr. Campbell was our guest earlier today to answer questions about Mr. Rae and about his profile, published in Saturday's Globe, of the man considered by most experts to be one of the front-runners in the Liberal race. The questions and Mr. Campbell's answers appear at the bottom of this page.
Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae
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Mr. Campbell is the Queen's Park columnist of The Globe and Mail.
He joined The Globe in 1977 after earlier experience at The Toronto Star, The Ottawa Citizen and in England. In his career with the Globe, he has worked in a wide variety of positions, including city editor and sports editor. He also served as bureau chief in both Los Angeles and Washington in the 1990s. Since then, has worked as a national and foreign desk reporter, both based in Toronto, and as a feature writer.
Mr. Campbell was a Southam fellow at Massey College, the University of Toronto, in 1983-4 and won The Globe's Stanley McDowell award for writing in 1992 for his coverage of (among other things) the L.A. riots and the U.S. presidential election that year.
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Jim Sheppard, Executive Editor, globeandmail.com: Welcome, Murray, and thanks for taking questions today from the readers of globeandmail.com on your excellent profile Saturday of Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae. This is a particularly appropriate day for the discussion, given that Hedy Fry has just quit the campaign and thrown her support to Rae. She's the third straight "minor" candidate to go to Rae when quitting the race. As well, a Toronto Star-LaPresse poll released today suggests that Rae has overtaken Michael Ignatieff as the leading candidate among Ontario and Quebec delegates, at least in terms of support after the first ballot. That's similar to the findings of a Globe-CTV poll last week, which focused on the overall national picture. Based on your interviews with Mr. Rae and his people for The Globe profile, can you assess why his campaign seems to be gaining the all-critical "momentum" just before the delegates are selected this weekend?
Murray Campbell: It could simply be the bandwagon effect. People like to find where the parade is headed and get in line. I think, however, that the phenomenon of the Rae surge is more complicated.
First, I think Liberals have finally taken the measure of him. Before the race, he wasn't that well-known outside Ontario and what little was known of him was based on his five turbulent years as Ontario's premier.
I sense that he's had a good introduction to Liberals now. He seems to have performed well at the leadership candidates' debates, which is not a surprise given his breadth of knowledge on a range of topics. As well, his campaign has been flawless.
This raises the second point about why Rae may be doing well these days. I sense that Ignatieff's comment about his future with the party has not served him well. Asked by The Toronto Star if he would stick around if he lost the race, he said that depended on who won. Although he later qualified that, it seems to have reinforced the perception that he's an outsider interested only in the top prize.
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