No one doubts Ignatieff will be leading after the first ballot, but given the last month or two, it’s really hard to call the guy the frontrunner anymore in this race. And while I’m hesitant to put too much stock in polls like this, I think it’s looking more and more like Bob Rae is the one to beat in this race. It’s still a four man race, but Rae certainly has the big Mo right now.

Of course, with great expectations comes great scrutiny. The mainstream media has picked up on Rae’s NDP donations and bloggers have been beating Bob up over the past few days.

While the NDP donations will upset some, I’m more concerned about Rae’s constitutional flip flop. Here’s what Bob said in August:

In an all-candidates debate only five of the 11 contenders attended, Bob Rae, Stephane Dion and Scott Brison said there is a need to recognize Quebec as a nation within Canada.

“I always supported the notion that Quebec…is a nation, it is a distinct society, which we need to recognize in our Constitution and I have fought for that,” Mr. Rae said.

“The genius behind federalism is that we can be both a Quebecker and a Canadian.”

Given my views on Quebec as a nation, it was disappointing to see this. Still, if you want to spin it as a positive, it just shows what a professional politician the guy is. He quickly bobbed positions when he saw an opening vis-a-vis Ignatieff and no one except a few punk bloggers has called him on it. The guy knows how to run a campaign.