I have a perhaps inappropriate question. If Specter does't win this battle he's going thru with cancer and has to resign or he passes on .. who becomes Chairman of the Judiciary Committee? We would hope, of course, that Specter does well in this fight for his life, whether or not he continues in the Senate.
However, if there's to be another vacancy or two before the '06 elections, and if there's any real possibility of the GOP losing control of the Senate in those elections, and if Specter is not chairing Judiciary, I am very intersted in who would be heading up those hearings.
Go to www.senate.gov and follow the links to the Judiciary Committee. Next in line is Hatch but he may have another committee. That would mean Kyl of AZ would follow, etc.