Summer Fling

Jason Cherniak has an accurate recap of the event. Well, more or less accurate. He forgot to mention the real highlights of Saturday night's activities. I'm speaking, of course, of the "Bob for Apples" game. And my crown tiara (special thanks to Danielle Russell). Both went over very well.

I learned three main lessons from the weekend. One, Young Liberals really, really, REALLY like to party (ummm....On second thought, having been to quite a few of these events before, this is nothing new). Two, Kennedy and Ignatieff have the largest Ontario youth teams, without question. I'd say Kennedy's team is the most enthusiastic and dedicated, but that really is hard to judge.

The third and most important lesson I learned is that most Young Liberals like Bob Rae. There seems to be a lot of deference toward the man. People appreciate his ideas and respect his qualifications. The main issue on people's minds is his electability in Ontario. Personally, I'm not concerned about this issue at all. I've said it before: Conventional wisdom most often proves to be false. I know for a fact that Bob Rae is more popular in this province than people give him credit for. I also know from experience that he has a persuasive personality and should be able to rally the support he needs when the time comes.

I'm convinced Bob Rae has the potential to grow his support, particularly among the youth of the party. Many young people haven't had the chance to meet him yet or hear him give a speech. To that end, I'd invite Young Liberals in the Toronto area to join Bob tonight (Monday) at the Oakham Lounge on the 2nd floor of the Ryerson University Student Campus Centre at 55 Gould St (Church and Gould). This event starts at 5:30 is part of the OYL Speaker Series in which leadership candidates are given the opportunity to address OYLers directly. It should be a good discussion.