Gerard Kennedy was out west this weekend and, having never met him before, I decided to see what the hype was all about.

The Calgary reception he did was very well organized, with glossy little contact cards, and I certainly got the sense that he was running. His speaking style was very natural and he played up the food bank angle, telling some stories about his time there. In my Bob Rae profile, I called Rae “Jack Layton’s worst nightmare”, but I think Kennedy deserves that title; idealistic NDP voters, looking for “results for people” would eat this stuff up.

The speech itself touched on repairing the United Nations, immigration, and reducing wait list times, among other topics. The speech was good but, by far, Kennedy’s strength was during the Q & A session. He was quick on his feet, drawing genuine laughs with his responses to most questions. When asked about how provincial politicians had never become Prime Minister, Kennedy said something along the lines of “well, I’d hate to surf against the tide of history“.

Kennedy is a bit late to the game and may not have the name recognition outside of Ontario that some of the other candidates have. But I suspect he will do very well in a multi-ballot convention since he strikes me as the kind of candidate who will really impress a lot of the delegates once they get a chance to meet him.