Former Liberal leadership candidate Bob Rae said he still intends to run in the next federal election, but cautions that he also needs to earn a living.
Rae -- along with the other unsuccessful candidates -- has maintained a low profile since his loss to Dion.
But the former Ontario premier broke his silence on Sunday during an appearance on CTV's Question Period.
He said he was disappointed with the result of the leadership campaign, but he's ready to move on and plans to seek a seat.
"My plan is to run. I think it's a little bit difficult for me in the sense I don't have a seat at the moment and I have to make a living," he said.
"I don't know whether the election is going to be this week or next week and I have to continue my work as a lawyer, as a mediator, and the work I'm doing on governance internationally, as well as the work I'm doing on the party's platform.
"But I've told Mr. Dion I want to run and if he'd like me to be a candidate I'd be more than willing to serve, and I hope something can be worked out."
Rae wouldn't address speculation that Liberal Leader Stephane Dion may offer him the candidacy in Bill Graham's Toronto Centre-Rosedale riding, if he were to step aside, or the Mississauga-Streetsville riding of Wajid Khan who recently defected to the Tories.
"Let's take it a day at a time in terms of where the seat will be," Rae said.
"Lets just say I've told Mr. Dion I very much want to run and the sooner I can get into the House the happier I'll be because I've got some very strong feelings about this government and I'd like to contribute to the team."
He said the leadership campaign didn't end the way he hoped it would, but overall it was a positive experience.
"I'm OK. It was a disappointment obviously, but I came from outside and looking at it now it was a tough race, but I feel very good about how it turned out."
He said there is no bad blood between him and Michael Ignatieff, despite some sharp barbs that were exchanged between the two old friends during the campaign, or with Gerard Kennedy, who could have shifted his support to Rae but didn't.
"I think it's important not to confuse the political and the personal. Michael and I have a friendship that goes back many years and that will continue. And Mr. Kennedy is someone for whom I have a lot of respect and regard ... we're all going to work together, that's the only way we can defeat Mr. Harper."
In an apparent reference to Dion's difficulties with English, Rae said the new Liberal leader's intelligence and drive overshadow any perceived weaknesses.
"It's not a matter of whether you're funny or adept or skilled or a good craftsman with words, or anything else, it's simply a matter of his personal commitment and his drive and his ability to get it done," Rae said.
