Bob Rae    Bob Rae MP for Toronto Centre

Some post Hillary speech thoughts. She did what she has to do, spoke directly to supporters, connected well with them. The hall was abuzz, some red meat on McCain and the Republicans. When I got back to my hotel room watched Fox and CNN and thought I must have been at a different event. The right-wing commentators are brutal all round, CNN not much better than Fox, which is unbelievably bad. And they call it "no spin". Breathtaking.

I write this listening to a litany of speeches leading up to Hillary Clinton's talk tonight - I heard President Clinton this morning, a short, direct appeal to democratic leaders to not only address but fix the key challenges facing the world - global warming, income inequality, and deep insecurity about the future. Hard to see the Harper agenda in any of this !

Guest of the National Democratic Institute, along with many others from all over the world, which means that I spend much of my time with observers from everywhere. Work sessions yesterday on the domestic scene, this morning we hear from a range of world leaders (including Kim Campbell) and we are told President Clinton may "drop in". Last night was an emotional one - Senator Kennedy's sheer physical courage and good humour completely remarkable (it was never confirmed he would be there, and apparently his doctors were not thrilled), and Michelle Obama spoke wonderfully.