Posted on 01/12/2009 1:38:07 PM PST by Salena Zito
Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., has a bit of dilemma on his hands. It’s the kind of problem that has the potential to snowball and create an avalanche of political issues, depending on how he handles it.
As the ranking Republican on the Judiciary Committee, Specter will have a front-row seat to what could become a political spectacle: the confirmation hearings of President-elect Barack Obama’s pick for attorney general, Eric H. Holder Jr.
Specter’s pivot point is not whether he decides to grill Holder, but how. Go overboard as many perceive he did with Anita Hill in the Clarence Thomas Supreme Court confirmation, and he alienates the left; give Holder a pass, and he pushes the right even further away.
Specter was first elected as the junior senator from Pennsylvania (Republican John Heinz was the senior) on the coattails of Ronald Reagan in 1980. At 78, he is gearing up for a sixth run. His last big political battle (and there have been many) came in 2004, not at the hands of a Democrat - but within his own party, which he has always had a love-hate relationship with.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
Snarlin is such a vitriol magnet, both Santorum and Dubyah would have been much better off, short and long run, to have sat the primary out.
I believe that primary endorsements by a sitting President are unusual. Don’t know about sitting Senator endorsements.
IAE, they screwed up, bigtime.
We're on the same page.
Thass Right, Chief.
Thank you for your service!
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