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There is nothing kind or intelligent about running up a string of $10â€" billion deficits, crippling the government‘s ability to do good. But Mr. Rae kept doing it, either without regard for the consequences or more likely, without seeing how disastrous his actions would ultimately be. He did, near the end, institute the badly needed Social Contract but it came too late and wasn‘t tough enough. So there you have the two sides of Bob Rae: one consists of an overlyâ€" intelligent and wise teacher and the other of a politician who almost caused our province financial ruin. How can this be? 1 intend to find out the answer as I attend his classes in the months to come. Just think of it. The provincial debt doubled during the Bob Rae years, reaching the dizzying figure of $100 billion or $9,000 for every Ontarian. Interest payments on that debt have been growing by $1 billion a year, robbing the treasury of funds that might otherwise go to education or health or parks. Unless something is done very quickly, government will be unable to provide many of the essential services that the people in this province nightly expect years? It is true, admittedly, that the previous Peterson Liberals did much of the damage, leaving Mr. Rae holding the bucket with expenditures he What 1 have trouble figuring out is why, with all of his brains and knowledge, he managed to drive Ontario‘s debt to the point where he handed Mike Harris â€" a man much less gifted and talented â€" a plate full of financial problems where he now has no choice but to institute dramatic spending cuts out of sheer necessity. He is now cutting because, unlike Mr. Rae, he is able to count OE _ £ knowledge of the Charter of Rights and how * im« * it originates, what it does and how it will CC _ evolve, is very strong. He is a joy to watch. & * A star in his own right. in / That is a rare commodity in politics. Sad to say bat most politicians I‘ve met are not very capable. They would find it incredibly e CE hard, if not impossible, to match Mr. Raes knowledge, intelligence and wit. They often seem to go into politics without having accomplished much else in life. But not Mr. Rae. He is after all, an Oxfordâ€"educated Rhodes Scholar. His likes do not appear very often. His is very much in the league of a Pierre Trudeau or an lan Scott, Ontario‘s former attorneyâ€"general, both of whom have enormous skill and massive brainpower. Like them, Mr. Rae is preâ€" cisely the kind of person you want in politics. But then there is the other side of Mr. Rae. And it causes me to ask all sorts of questions. had Vnoxhingilo do with. But that only explains part of the picture Why is it that someone so talented, so knowledgeable, so clever, could have managed to badly mess up Ontarios finances during the past five It is hard to know what to make of Bob Rae. There he was last week, in the auditorium of the KofMer Building at the University of Toronto, lecturing to political science and law students about legal and political philosophy, as part of his new course called Thinking About Politics which is being offered as part of the university‘s {all curnculum. 1 had signed up for the class as part of my studies leading to the a Master‘s degree in law. And 1 was curious to see what it would be like. 1 must say that I walked away impressed. Mr. Rae is a superb lecturer and his grasp of political theory is incredibly strong. He is very much at home with Plato, Aristotle or Burke and he weaves | an almost magical web around their "ar *Â¥ ‘%""/ MEamnLe Fax No. The two sides of Bob Rae WaterboTownSqm 75 King St. South, Suite 201 OPIVION N2J 1P2 It is abundantly clear that he understands our political roots. He knows what makes the system tick. His grasp of the Canadian constitution and what preceded it, his philosophies Maureen McNab Melodee Martinuk Pete Cudhea (Sports Editor) That should be the answer to activists who say the voters didn‘t realize what they were doing. They realized it quite well and the poll showing represents their applause. Some howls of anger are understandable because it‘s only human to be outraged when something you took for granted is taken away. The problem is that most programs began with a good idea, an idea that often blossomed to bizarre proportions at the hands of the social engineers. The hands of course, dipped deep $ into the provincial treasury. Wouldâ€"be callers with complaints have told us they got ‘nowhere in trying to phone the mayor. Attempts to contact the mayor were discouraged and there was no suggestion he‘d ever talk to a lowly taxpayer. Heather Mitchell Going for the gold: Chalk it up as just one more example of the Americanization of Canada, but catch a glimpse of Waterloo Region‘s police and fire chiels. You won‘t find more gold braid in a banana republic. Such pretension. If the average chief stood outside the Valhalla On second thought, there‘s one surefire way of having His Worship call back: say you‘re an outâ€"ofâ€"town investor with a couple of million to invest downtown. And thus you had the Harris motivation: it fl was getting harder and harder to support the government in the style to which too many folks had become accustomed. Highâ€"Level Runâ€"around?: Granted, he had a tough act to follow. But Kitcheners mayor Richard Christy is no Dom Cardillo when it comes to communicating with the citizenry. Many of the folks are protesting because they figure government aid as their entitlement. Each day newspapers and newscasts, as always leftâ€"leaning, give the critics more than ample space and time but the PCs are at 52 per cent in the polls, up seven per cent since election As the Arab proverb puts it, "The dogs bark but the caravan moves on." Pooches of all pedigrees are yowling but the Hartis caravan moves on. Growing support for Harris‘ Common Sense Revolution Circulation: Mary Baycroft Jerry Fischer Circulation Manager: Andrew Pearen Rick Campbell Paul Winkler aei t coniotsrecdion s inicrntnnedetli un o a division of Southam Inc. Ee 75 King St. S., Suite 201, Waterloo ON. N2J IP2 886â€"2830 The Fairway Group Subscription rates 3 240 Holiday Inn Dr., Unit F $45 yearly in Canada. . | : Cambridge, On. $90 yearly outside Canada. ‘ N3C 3X4 + G.ST. 7 The views of our columnists are their own and do not ecessurlly reprosit 1 the views of the newspaper. n The 240 I : Cam N3C Waterloo Chronicle is published nflym ONCE OvER LGHTIY TTE _ Publisher: Rick Campbell:â€" The Final Word: Lots of folks were surprised that the OJ. Simpson jury took only four hours to reach a verdict. Thats not accurate. It took them only 10 minutes. The rest of the time was spent trying to figure out to spell "Not guilty." Magic Markers: It‘s going to be tougher to keep granny it home, now that both Kitchener and Waterloo have raiséd prizes that can be paid at bi 4 It‘s viewed ashmnlmpud &'251“ Although come to lhinkofil.omymnfiflflfl:tlfllthrh*j together. She lost the house and they had to move into 0R ably a shoe [WER And natch, the police commission is already against it on the grounds that "communitis m have a need to ensure police services are gorâ€" erned by an impartial board, rather than by a regional bureaucracy." Oh? But that would be a body aware of bud get restraints, eh? And one that costs less. And with strict accountability. : Theres no word yet from the blankâ€"cheque 4 € school boards but if they have any idea of the ¢ low esteem in which they‘re held, they wont j say much. _ | If Queen‘s Park really knew, it would can all the boards by sunset tomorrow. A most fie quent comment I get is "Keep after the school. boards. They‘re all useless." i The hydro commissions? They‘re as appropriate as a whipâ€" socket on a Cadillac. Let‘s let it go at that. 8M Anyhow, change is coming so don‘t be upset. And by all means, don‘t be fit to be tied because that means you‘re prob Winds of Change: So OK, you can say there are {ly specks on my crystal ball but I see a boilâ€"down in the welter of boards, bureaus and commissions that sap our tax dollars. : A big indicator: Waterloo Region Council is looking to par ticipate in a provincial pilot project to have powers of special Hq}gl, some tourist wfioulf!rpoim to his bags. cils, including regional councils. purposebodies fiandulad to municipal.cmn- QuUoTE of the week 4kR their pay. They‘re not frivolom”; Jm BromnEy (Story page 13) J 6¢People here are hard workers and they save a lotof