It's not every day you see a Conservative sporting a Bob Rae button. This one was different though — orange on top and red on the bottom, "Go for Bob, Go for Broke".

Jason Kenney called today's news conference at the National Press Theatre. Strange, considering the Conservative party has its own high-tech broadcast bunker in suburban Ottawa. But Kenney said he wanted to save reporters a $20 cab ride.

The purpose of today's announcement? To attack the record of former Ontario NDP Premier Bob Rae and criticize Stéphane Dion's judgment in choosing Rae to help craft the Liberal party platform.

Kenney says it appears Dion wants to do to Canada what Rae did to Ontario. He then walked reporters through the recession of the early 1990s, accusing Rae of raising taxes, losing Ontario jobs and driving the province into deep deficit.

When it was time for reporters to ask questions, Macleans columnist Paul Wells started by pointing out how the past is a goldmine. Wells continued, "To what extent do the policies of stalwart Conservatives in those years influence their policy stances now? Stockwell Day campaigned on a flat tax, Jim Flaherty campaigned for the leadership of Ontario Conservatives on a platform of arresting homeless people, you made statements about private health care in 2000, Harper made statements about Quebec in 1992 and Scott Reid has talked about bilingualism."

Kenney answered, "But there's a qualitative difference, a fundamental difference between what people have said and what they've done. I think what's most important for voters in judging politicians is to measure their actions and not their words."

— Alison Crawford