The American Spectator : The Spectacle Blog : The Likable Arlen Specter

The Likable Arlen Specter

By Wlady Pleszczynski on 10.14.12 @ 1:57PM

Long-time Pennsylvania senator Arlen Specter died today. Late in his career he tormented conservatives, and his political career ended pathetically and badly. (Jim Antle wrote about him for us earlier this year.) Yet who will ever forget the prosecutorial job he did on Anita Hill during the Thomas hearings? On June 15, 2006, I believe it was, he was our guest at our monthly Saturday Evening Club gathering. He proudly sported a summery seersucker suit, and couldn’t have been more engaging or even conservative-sounding. He got along splendidly with Grover Norquist, though what I remember most is his mentioning how it was that he, the son of a junk trader in Kansas, ended up in Pennsylvania. It was because his sister had enrolled at Temple University, and so he moved to Philadelphia with her as her chaperone. How could anyone dislike someone so old-school?

About the Author

Wlady Pleszczynski is editorial director of The American Spectator and the editor of AmSpec Online.

http://spectator.org/blog/2012/10/14/the-likable-arlen-specter

FLASHBACK TO: 1995

Pope Culture

By George Sim Johnston

A man of faith in a godless age is hitting Americans where it hurts.
Why the GOP Does Not, Like, Totally Suck

By P.J. O'Rourke

Mr. and Mrs. American Spectator Reader, let P.J. O’Rourke talk sense to your kids.
Dames at Sea

By John Corry
In the Absence of Guns

By Mark Steyn

In Britain, defending your property can get you life.
The Metaphysical Martini

By Werner J. Dannhauser
Counting the Costs of Clintonism

By Robert H. Bork

The debacle of this president’s administration is both a cause and a symptom of the decline of American values. Unless Congress impeaches him, that decline will go on unchecked. An eminent jurist surveys the damage and assesses the chances for the recovery of our culture.
Chuck McHagel

By George Neumayr

It won’t take long for conservatives to scratch this presidential wannabe off their 2008 scorecard.
The Legacy of Old John and Mother Fresh-Roasted

By Douglas Bartholomew
It’s the Best Time of the Year

By Mark Steyn

The American Christmas, like the songs that celebrate it, makes room for everybody under the rainbow. Is that why so many people seem to be hostile to it?
The Bush Crack-Up

By Brit Hume

Was the President done in by the economy, or by the politics of the economy?