Obama welcomes Senate's newest Democrat

President Obama welcomed Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter to the Democratic flock yesterday at the White House, praising the party's newest senator as "one tough hombre" who will not be a "rubber stamp" for administration policies.

Obama and Vice President Biden also made clear they would give Specter their full support in the 2010 Democratic primary, one day after the five-term senator startled Washington by bolting a Republican Party that he said had moved too far to the right.

The highest endorsement in the land reverberated in the state as one potential Democratic entrant in the Senate race said he would not run, and two considered whether to defy the wishes of the White House, Gov. Rendell, and other elements of the party establishment.

There was fallout on the other side, too, as Republicans scrambled to make sense of the changed political climate. Some searched for a moderate alternative to conservative former Rep. Pat Toomey. Specter said Tuesday that he was switching parties after polling convinced him he could not win the GOP nomination against Toomey.

"This unsettles everything," pollster Terry Madonna of Franklin & Marshall College said.

In an early-morning appearance in the White House Diplomatic Room, Obama said Specter's decision to switch took courage. He also sought to portray it as a sign of his administration's openneness.

"I'd like to think that Arlen's decision reflects a recognition that this administration is open to many different ideas and different points of view, that we seek cooperation and common ground," Obama said.

"I think I can be of assistance to you, Mr. President," Specter said, mentioning health-care reform, medical research, global warming, and immigration.

Later in the day, Specter did not offer such assistance as he voted against final passage of the Obama administration's budget blueprint.

Biden, who often rode Amtrak with Specter when he was a Delaware senator, praised his integrity and intellect.

Specter said: "We have talked over every problem under the sun and under the moon" on those train rides.

State Rep. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat from Montgomery County, said he would not run for the Senate "under the circumstances." Shapiro said he was satisfied that Specter would help pass Obama's agenda, adding that the switch "demonstrates the depth and breadth of our party."

But U.S. Rep. Joe Sestak of Delaware County, who has $3.3 million in his House campaign account, said he had not made up his mind whether to run and would not let Democratic elders' embrace of Specter dissuade him.

"Arlen has to answer the question 'What are you running for?' " Sestak said. "He was unable to shape the Republican Party with his leadership. How does he intend to shape the Democratic Party?"

And Joseph Torsella, former head of the National Constitution Center who was a top aide in Rendell's mayoral administration, will continue his campaign for the Democratic nomination.

"The governor himself has said endorsements from elected officials don't really matter - it's going to be up to Democratic voters in Pennsylvania to decide who best represents them," said Mark Nevins, a spokesman for Torsella. "It's not clear to me that Democratic primary voters are going to embrace a candidate who voted with George W. Bush 75 percent of the time."

Larry Ceisler, a political analyst in Philadelphia, said it was not "realistic" to expect Specter to get a free ride even though he has demonstrated appeal to Democratic voters in the past. "Some people who are staunch Democratic voters are still going to view Arlen Specter as a Republican," Ceisler said.

Ironically enough, the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee launched robocalls yesterday reminding Pennsylvania Democrats that Specter was endorsed by Bush in 2004 and opposes a bill making it easier for workers to form unions. Committee spokeswoman Amber Wilkerson said the calls were targeted to 100,000 Democrats who regularly vote in primaries.

Specter's departure "hits the reset button" on the Senate race and will force Republican Party leaders into deeper discussions about the best candidates to put forward in 2010, said Republican former State Rep. Jeff Coleman, founder of the consultant firm Churchill Strategies.

"People are going to be looking at their political Christmas card lists," said Coleman, who supports Peg Luksik, a favorite of social conservatives who is running for the GOP nomination against Toomey. "They are asking themselves, 'Where is the heavy hitter?' "

Among the names mentioned: former Gov. Tom Ridge or U.S. Rep. Jim Gerlach (R., Pa.), who is considering running for governor. Others have also suggested former U.S. Attorney Pat Meehan, also exploring a run for governor.

"I don't think it's a kamikaze mission," Chris Borick, director of the Institute of Public Policy at Muhlenberg College, said of a moderate challenge to Toomey. "It's not that there's no room for a moderate in the modern Pennsylvania Republican Party; there's no room for Arlen Specter."

Borick said Specter overstated the idea that Pennsylvania Republicans want ideological purity. He said a candidate like Ridge who has conservative credentials but is seen as less divisive could be successful - especially with Luksik in the race to divide true believers. Ridge did not respond to requests yesterday seeking comment.

But political analyst Bill Green of Pittsburgh said a conservative such as Toomey was better positioned to beat Specter in next year's general election.

"I think if they run to the right of Arlen, they stand a better chance then if they run to the center," Green said. "Every time Arlen Specter has been reelected, he has beaten a moderate or liberal and won big - 600,000 last time. If Republicans nominate another moderate, I think the results would be the same."

Political observers say Specter's departure may have repercussions in the 2010 Republican gubernatorial primary.

"I don't think it's a settled field," said Coleman, referring to the two leading candidates, Attorney General Tom Corbett and Meehan, who both would be running on " 'law and order" platforms."

Borick agreed that political races "play off each other," he said. "Remember, it wasn't too long ago when Toomey was running for governor."

Meehan has deep ties to Specter, having run his 1992 campaign. Some say his connection to Specter may come back to haunt him in 2010. At the Pennsylvania Leadership Conference in Harrisburg last month, flyers placed on cars in the parking lot derided Meehan for his support of "Benedict Arlen."