We can only hope

The Star has more speculation that Bob Rae will run as a Liberal in the next federal election, and notes that he has a fair amount of support for a future leadership post as well:

"Bob is very popular in Quebec. He speaks French and is well thought of there," said one prominent Liberal, noting that since retiring from politics in 1996, Rae has spent years forging a sterling reputation as one of Canada's leading "statesmen."...

The case for a Rae candidacy was bolstered with the release yesterday of a Toronto Star-SES Research Associates poll.

It said former New Brunswick premier Frank McKenna, 57, now the Canadian ambassador to Washington, is the frontrunner in the undeclared leadership contest with support of 23 per cent of the 1,000 people surveyed.

Rae and former deputy prime minister John Manley, 55, were tied for second at 11 per cent apiece followed by former federal minister Martin Cauchon, 42, and Harvard University professor Michael Ignatieff, 58, at 4 per cent.

Among Ontarians polled, 20 per cent favoured Rae compared to 17 per cent who back McKenna.

It's particularly interesting to see Rae so high in the rankings when compared to a lot of longtime Liberal stalwarts (not to mention the most-hyped candidate in Ignatieff). Whither Allan Rock? Anne McLellan? Sheila Copps? They may have merely been left out of the poll, but either way the desire to recruit an outsider over each of them seems to be a slap in the face.

Meanwhile, a Rae Liberal party would probably be the NDP's dream scenario, for reasons which have oft been discussed elsewhere. There'd be a stronger Liberal push for soft-left votes, but that would be more than counterbalanced by the NDP's ability to play off the problems of the Rae Ontario government (rather than being hamstrung by them). The effect will be lessened if Rae doesn't ascend to the leadership, but the same factors should still be in play.