[steveegg]

Ole Arlen already has stated he will not support for elevation any of the judges that were filibustered but eventually confirmed as part of the "Gang of 14" deal. So right off the bat, that means he won't support Brown, and the best you get is a vote out of committee with no recommendation

Tell me again why President Bush took the unusual step of supporting him in the 2004 Pennsylvania Primary?

[XJarhead]

Tell me again why President Bush took the unusual step of supporting him in the 2004 Pennsylvania Primary?

Good question, and I didn't agree with him doing that. My guess is that GOP control of the Senate was far from certain, and he figured Arlen was a better chance to win in the general election than Toomey. He wanted to maximize his chances of keeping and increasing GOP control. Certainly in retrospect at least, that was a bad call.

Bad call or not, it doesn't change the reality of what we face in October 2005 in terms of Specter's position on nominations. Like it or not -- and I don't -- we're stuck with him now.