How Arlen Specter solved his Sestak problem

Salon.com has a great article on Senator Arlen Specter's political survival efforts this election year. The first move for Specter was to align himself with President Obama. Obama then laid down the gauntlet and coerced the Democratic Party establishment to support Specter. I don't think Pennsylvania voters realize just how important Specter is to advancing the Obama agenda. Here is what Obama had to say about Specter at a recent Health Care Reform rally:

If there was any doubt about which guy the White House likes in Pennsylvania's Democratic Senate primary between Sen. Arlen Specter and Rep. Joe Sestak, President Obama put it to rest pretty quickly during a visit to the state last week.

"Your senior senator, who has just been doing outstanding work in the Senate, Arlen Specter, is in the house," Obama told a crowd at Arcadia University on Monday, running through the usual shout-outs that visiting politicians do before moving on to their main topic (in this case, healthcare reform). Click Here To Read More

There is no doubt that Specter's primary challenger Representative Joe Sestak is more in tune with the liberal side of the political spectrum. But since when was Sestak ever a threat to Specter? The Democratic Party establishment never really gave Sestak a chance thanks to Obama's support.

But is Obama's support of Specter hurting his credibility with voters in Pennsylvania? Specter is the poster child for supporters of the 'Tea Party' movement and his entire career represents what is wrong with Washington politics.

We will have to see how the political alliance between Obama and Specter will play out. I'm thinking that a very hostile, anti-incumbent electorate is not going to treat these guys very favorably come November. It's funny how both Obama and Bush can be credited with saving Specter's political career. Not a great accomplishment in my book.