"Given the choice between losing the Senate seat and Rendell keeping the Governorship, I'll take the latter choice."
i totally disagree. id much rather have a republican such as swann as governor and lose santorum in the senate. a governor has much more power directly over pennsylvanians than a u.s. senator being 1 out of 100.
Tell that to me when the next SCOTUS nominee comes up. As long as the Pa. House and Senate remain in Republican hands (by no means a certainty since the whole pay raise debacle), Rendell can be kept in check, as he has during the first term.