Arlen Specter: Hey, Maybe I'll Join the Obama Administration

You'd think some people would just gracefully retire.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) on Wednesday said he is still mulling his retirement plans, but that he might accept a post in the Obama administration.

Just what America is clamoring for: More Arlen Specter.

Specter, who lost his primary bid this spring after switching parties in 2009, is down to his last few months as a member of the Senate he joined in 1981. He said he plans to return for the lame-duck session after the election, but then isn't sure what the future holds.

"I'm thinking about it, but I'm following [former Senate Leader] George Mitchell's advice to never do anything too sudden," Specter told The Hill.

"I am writing a book, but I'm always doing that. I've written two — three, actually, but only two are worth reading," the senator deadpanned.

Surely there'll be a rush to bookstores to read how a man turned his back on one party to then be rejected by the other. Fascinating reading, no doubt.

Asked about rumors of his interest in serving in the Obama administration, Specter acknowledged interest but declined to offer specifics. The longtime Judiciary Committee chairman has been mentioned for positions at the Justice Department, but is also reportedly interested in a role in Middle East peace talks.

Maybe he'll be a prosecutor when the Fox News Un-American Activity Show Trials convene.

Listen To The Babies

The E-Trade babies appear to be heir apparent to those Hitler in the bunker videos. Here the Republican Study Committee has them traveling with Obama explaining how the Democrats have to spend gazillions of dollars to solve the governments debt problems.



Look, Specter is gone and I'm in a good mood.

Traitorous Hack Now Viewed as 'Model Democrat'

Let's see. He votes against the will of his constituents, has a smug, condescending attitude, is a slimy opportunist, enjoys backroom deals, is a cranky prick and faces the end of his career come November.

By golly, they're right. He is a model Democrat.

Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) says he feels fully comfortable with his new party since leaving the GOP almost a year ago.

And, facing a challenge from the left in the May Democratic primary, Specter seems every bit the reliable foot soldier.

He’s become a leading advocate for organized labor within the Senate Democratic Conference and has developed close working relationships with some of the party’s most influential leaders.

“My colleagues on the Democratic side have been very receptive,” Specter said in an interview.

Well, of course they are. There isn't anyone Democrats love more than a useful idiot.

“They were glad to see me buck the Republican obstructionism and provide key support on the stimulus and the 60th vote on healthcare reform,” he said.

When he was a Republican, Specter gave GOP leaders and the conservative base fits with his independent stands, such as not voting to convict former President Bill Clinton during Senate impeachment proceedings.

Despite vowing independence when he switched parties on April 28 of last year, Specter has become a model Democratic senator.

During Specter’s 29-year career as a Senate Republican, he voted with Democrats 35 percent of the time. Since switching parties in 2009, he has cast more than 95 out of 100 votes with Democratic leaders.

Specter said his political outlook became “irreconcilable” with the GOP when most of his Republican colleagues refused to support economic stimulus legislation that he says “saved the country from a 1929 depression.”

Of course the stimulus hasn't worked in the slightest, but hey, don't let facts get in the way of a good puff piece.

Specter: Protests 'Not Necessarily Representative of America'

Will there come a point when these extremist Democrats stop insulting their constituents? Every day there's a new attack on Americans. They're racists, they're Nazis, they're un-American. Is this supposed to win people over, the constant smearing of them?

Now the joke known as Arlen Specter piles on, declaring those who dare question him as not necessarily representative of America.

Let's hope next year the folks in the Keystone state make Specter not representative of Pennsylvania.

Sen. Arlen Specter said Wednesday he thinks people who have been angrily disrupting town hall meetings on overhauling the health care system are "not necessarily representative of America," but should be heard.

"It's more than health care," said Specter, 79, who earlier this year left the Republican Party and became a Democrat. "I think there is a mood in America of anger with so many people unemployed, with so much bickering in Washington ... with the fear of losing their health care. It all boils over."

Specter and Sen. Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat, appeared on a nationally broadcast news show Wednesday, a day after town hall meetings they hosted erupted in the same kind of catcalls, jeers and shouting that has characterized many such forums in recent weeks. "There were a couple of tough moments," McCaskill said of her experience, "but it lasted two hours and there were thousands of people there."

Jeers and taunts drowned out both Specter and McCaskill on occasion Tuesday. President Barack Obama was treated more respectfully at his town hall meeting in New Hampshire.

Of course Obama was treated more respectfully. It was an audience full of plants.

If Specter is so concerned about people losing jobs, maybe he ought to ask why over 2,000,000 have become unemployed since the "stimulus" plan he voted for became law.

The bitter sessions underscored the challenge for the administration as it tries to win over an increasingly skeptical public on the costly and far-reaching task of revamping the nation's health care system. Desperate to stop a hardening opposition, the White House created a Web site to dispel what it says are smears and House Democrats set up a health care "war room" out of Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office to help lawmakers handle questions.

Specter, who had another such forum scheduled Wedneday [sic] at State College, Pa., said he had been "impressed with the fact that people have been very well prepared." He said many have come to meetings with copies of the legislation and have cited specific provisions in their arguments.

Wow, people actually coming prepared by reading the bill, something Specter still admits he hasn't done.

Seems these people are more representative of America than the disgraceful Specter is.

Specter Given Rousing Welcome

Arlen Specter loses seniority on Senate committees

Despite assurances that he would be able to retain his seniority in the U.S. Senate, Arlen Specter has lost his status on five committees. In a voice vote last night, Specter was added to the Democratic side on Judiciary, Appropriations, Veterans Affairs, Aging and Environment and Public Works. He expands the Democrats' majority on those panels.

The resolution was read by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, who had promised Specter a special deal in negotiating Specter's party switch last week. The Democrats were eager to woo Specter to their side, edging them closer to the 60-vote super majority needed to carry out many legislative items on President Barack Obama's agenda.

Specter even said he felt "entitled" to that seniority. But Senate Dems apparently did not agree, and the ramifications are considerable. Specter is losing major funding sources for staff members, now that his committee work will be far more limited.

Most notable for Pennsylvanians? Specter will no longer be the ranking member on the Appropriations Committee, which has enabled the 79-year-old senator to deliver billions in aid to the state over the past three decades. It has been Specter's goal to become the chairman of that powerful committee, but now everything regarding Specter's senior status will not be decided until after the 2010 election.

Specter is now, technically, junior to Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat elected in 2006 and, formerly, the junior member of the Pennsylvania Senate delegation.

In Washington, Specter said he feels confident he will regain seniority after the 2010 election.

"Senator Reid assured me that I would keep my committee assignments and that I would have the same seniority as if I had been elected as a Democrat in 1980. It was understood that the issue of subcommittee chairmanships would not be decided until after the 2010 election,'' Specter said.

"Some members of the caucus have raised concerns about my seniority, so the caucus will vote on my seniority at the same time subcommittee chairmanships are confirmed after the 2010 election. I am confident my seniority will be maintained under the arrangement I worked out with Senator Reid. I am eager to continue my work with my colleagues on the various committees on which I serve and will continue to be a staunch and effective advocate for Pennsylvania's and the nation's priorities."

Po' Arlen, now he's a victim. The one thing he truly cherished - power - is gone because of choices he made. And the chances that the Democrat's Senate Caucus will grant Specter 30 years of seniority? Slim and none, as they can't stand the slimy self-serving bastard either.

Via PennLive.com

You Stay Classy, Arlen: 'I Think Jack Kemp Would Be Alive Today'

This is just astonishingly gruesome. If Arlen Specter felt this way in 1970, why was he ever a Republican?

Sen. Arlen Specter, Pennsylvania Democrat, said part of the reason he left the Republican Party last week was disillusionment with its healthcare priorities, and suggested that had the Republicans taken a more moderate track, Jack Kemp may have won his battle with cancer.

Mr. Specter, responding to a question from CBS's Bob Schieffer over whether he had let down Pennsylvanians who wanted a Republican to represent them, said he felt his priorities were more in line with those of the Democrats.

"Well, I was sorry to disappoint many people. Frankly, I was disappointed that the Republican Party didn't want me as their candidate," Mr. Specter said on CBS's "Face the Nation." "But as a matter of principle, I'm becoming much more comfortable with the Democrats' approach. And one of the items that I'm working on, Bob, is funding for medical research."

Mr. Specter continued: "If we had pursued what President Nixon declared in 1970 as the war on cancer, we would have cured many strains. I think Jack Kemp would be alive today. And that research has saved or prolonged many lives, including mine."

Apparently Specter is unaware he's still alive. Using his own logic, shouldn't he be dead by now?

I hope the Democrats are happy now that he's in the fold. My only advice to them is they should watch their backs.

What's next for Specter, quoting Kemp from the grave?

Update: Bruce in the comments notes:

From the National Cancer Institute:

The President’s Budget proposal for FY 2009 recommended $4.81 billion for NCI.

[...]

NCI’s budget for FY 2008 was $4.83 billion.

Seems to me Specter should be taking Obama to task for proposing a reduction in the NCI funding, instead of blaming the GOP.

If Bush had done that, the headlines would read "Bush hates cancer patients!".

Indeed, they would. Also, Ed Morrissey points out what a despicable lie this is by Specter.

It’s also a grotesque lie. During Republican control of Congress, federal spending on health research and regulation increased 46% after inflation, from $49 billion a year to $72 billion a year, or about 7% increase each year. That’s almost the same rate of increase as Defense spending got in the same period (48%), when we actually had a real war on our hands, and not a political contrivance for excusing federal spending.

And Specter wonders why he can’t get within 20 points of Pat Toomey in a primary race?

Specter should immediately apologize for this. Otherwise I hope the GOP hangs this around his neck and he becomes a liability for the Democrats, who must be so proud to have this punk in their ranks.

'The Day When Swine Flew'

Charles Hurt lays the big hurt on the Arlen Specter, who so graciously handed Barack Obama more unchecked power than LBJ or Jimmy Carter ever had. Read the whole thing, but here's all you need to know about what a snake Specter is.

It was just last month that Benedict Arlen was vowing never to switch parties. The notion of "check and balance" against giving Democrats such absolute power was a "very important principle" to him.

So what changed?

His pollster called and told him that he couldn't win the Republican primary.

Specter, you see, is a world-class "negotiator" who can wrestle with any shred of his conscience and win every time.

He could teach Eliot Spitzer hooker Ashley Dupree a thing or two. At least, she wouldn't compromise on requiring johns to practice safe sex -- even if he was the governor of New York.

For Specter, anything is for sale and everything is negotiable. It's why he has thrived so well and for so long.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are wondering why with both chambers of Congress at his beck and call and the entire press corps in his back pocket, Obama needs Arlen Specter, too.

For more principled conservatives, this will be remembered as the day when Swine flew. They are relieved to be done with the constant thorn in their sides that was "Snarlin' Arlen."

And, of course, they are praying that he will be as helpful to Democrats as he has been to Republicans.

A roundup of opinion on Specter here.

Shocker: Specter is a Hypocrite

When Jim Jeffords jumped ship in 2001 it was none other than Arlen Specter who wanted the rules changed to prevent this from happening in the future. I'm thinking he's happy his proposal never saw the light of day.

Accepting Senator Jeffords ' decision was based on principle for the reasons he gave at his news conference on Thursday morning, a question still remains as to whether any such inducement was offered and whether it played any part in Senator JEFFORDS' decision. Questions on such offers and counteroffers should be considered by Senators and by the Senate in an ethical context, but at this moment I do not see any way to effect such conduct by rulemaking or legislation.

This week's events raise very profound questions for the governance of our country as well as the operation of the Senate. I intend to press a rule change which would preclude a recurrence of this situation and will be discussing with my colleagues the whole idea of inducements as an incentive for a party switch.

It will be interesting to see what inducements Chia Pet Biden offered old Arlen while they were pumping iron at the gym.

Breaking News: Liberal Becomes a Democrat

Faced with certain defeat in the GOP primary next year, Arlen Specter takes the cowardly way out.

So long, farewell, DLTTHYOTWO.

Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter will switch his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat and announced today that he will run in 2010 as a Democrat, according to a statement he released this morning.

Specter's decision would give Democrats a 60 seat filibuster proof majority in the Senate assuming Democrat Al Franken is eventually sworn in as the next Senator from Minnesota. (Former Sen. Norm Coleman is appealing Franken's victory in the state Supreme Court.)

"I have decided to run for re-election in 2010 in the Democratic primary," said Specter in a statement. "I am ready, willing and anxious to take on all comers and have my candidacy for re-election determined in a general election."

Apparently he wasn't willing enough to take on Pat Toomey inthe GOP primary.

It'll serve him right if he's defeated int he Democrat primary.

Six weeks ago he declared he was staying a Republican.

Sen. Arlen Specter yesterday tried to snuff speculation that he was preparing to bolt the Republican Party in the face of a conservative uprising that threatens his bid for a sixth term.

"To eliminate any doubt, I am a Republican, and I am running for reelection in 2010 as a Republican on the Republican ticket," Specter said in a statement released by his campaign manager.

I guess he was lying.

Specter Appears With Obscure Radio Host, Defends Rush Limbaugh

Must be a huge coup for Arlen Specter to gain the endorsement of a guy nobody listens to any more. Clearly more annoying to Howard Stern is the fact Specter actually defends Rush Limbaugh.

Stern: …that crackpot Rush Limbaugh. Creep.
Specter: I never attack prominent radio personalities like Howard Stern or anybody else or people who buy ink by the barrel.
Stern: You okay with Limbaugh? You like him?
Specter: Do I like Rush Limbaugh?
Stern: Limbaugh, yeah.
Specter: Yeah, I like him.
Stern: You do?
Specter: Yeah.
Stern: You met with him?
Specter: Yes, I have.
Stern: Is he a crackpot?
Specter: No. No, he’s not a crackpot.
Stern: He’s an enemy of the country.
Specter: Nah. No, he’s not. He’s expressing his opinions.
Stern: He wants the president to do poorly.
Specter: Now, Howard, I –
Stern: Wait a second. Senator –
Specter: Howard, I once heard someone criticize you.
Stern: Well, you don’t see him around any more do you? Don’t ask where he went. Senator, wait a second, in all serious, he wants the president to do poorly. Listen, I never voted for Bush but I always wanted to see him do well. I’m an American. I want my president to be successful. Who says "I don’t want my president to do well?" That’s anti-American.
Specter:: Well, I haven’t heard Rush Limbaugh say that but there’s a lot of talk which is provocative. There’s a lot of comment. You fellows – and I know this doesn’t apply to you, Howard –
Stern: Of course not.
Specter: Probably doesn’t apply to Rush. But some of these talk shows guys want to attract an audience.
Quivers: Oh. Is that what they’re up to?
Stern: I don’t want to do that.
Specter: The more provocative –
Stern: That’s true.
Specter: The more audience, the more [crosstalk], the more money.
Stern: But we are Americans –

Stern has always been envious Limbaugh has far more listeners than he does, and now that Stern has few listeners on satellite, he's even more jealous than ever.

How pathetic is it that months after the fact Limbaugh's comment about Obama are still be reported erroneously and taken out of context?

Just pathetic.

Spendulus: An Impending Democrat Disaster?

At this point in time, it's difficult to say whether the Democrat spending orgy will be a disaster for Democrats or whether Oklahoma Senator James Inhofe is simply engaging in wishful thinking while whistling past the graveyard. After all, some of these billions are sure to find their way into groups that will be campaigning against Republicans (hello, ACORN!).

IT'S too late to fix any thing. It's over.

There is little hope to repair the multibillion-dollar stimulus plan now - but that could actually mean good news for Republicans. This could be the bill that puts the GOP back in power.

Once Americans realize that this is the largest spending authorization in the history of the country and that the bill is stuffed with waste and less than 7 percent real economic stimulation, they will surely wake up.

Americans will see that there are two parties - the tax-and-spend party and a party of fiscal responsibility.

The bad news is that my kids are going to have to pay for it.

The $780 billion deal that emerged from backroom talks among Democrats and Republicans is bloated with millions of dollars for stupid projects like habitat restoration, trail improvements, and coupons for digital TV transition.

It is clear that infrastructure investment, along with defense spending and tax cuts, has a greater stimulative impact on the economy than anything else the government can do. But the bill contains very little in the way of this.

I pushed for measures to increase highway investment by $5.5 billion, and to increase defense procurement spending by $5.3 billion to manufacture or acquire vehicles, equipment, ammunition, and materials required to reconstitute military units. And I sought to slash proposed wasteful, frivolous projects. Democrats fought these efforts.

All the speeches and amendments on Capitol Hill were for show and cover, because everyone knew we would have a couple of Republicans - Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) and Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) - who would cave in the bipartisan negotiations this week.

I just was hoping we as a party would have the discipline and the courage to stop this from happening, and we failed.

The stimulus bill won't change by the time the full Senate votes on it tomorrow afternoon. And when it later goes to a bipartisan conference committee sure to be stacked with Democrats, the plan will likely become a victim of more greed.

Only then will the GOP have a chance to convince Specter and Collins to come to their senses - to come back to a moderate-to-conservative position.

Good luck with that, Senator.

By the time the midterms come around in 21 months, this spendulus scam may be long forgotten, buried in a coming avalanche of far left legislation that will simply add many more billions to the public tab. If by some miracle the economy rebounds even slightly, you can be sure Obama's PR team from the networks will be gushing how The One rescued us from fiscal oblivion. Bank on it.

Self-Aggrandizing Blowhard Looking to Glom on to Super Bowl Hype

Super Bowl? I may play squash

I'm not sure whether this Senate fossil realized the whole Spygate brouhaha occurred during the second week of September.

It's time to, you know, move on, Arlen.

Thankfully, he says this doesn't rise to such grave levels as the destruction of CIA tapes, even though most people don't care about that, either.

With the Super Bowl fast approaching, a senior Republican senator says he wants the NFL to explain why it destroyed evidence of the New England Patriots cheating scandal.

"I am very concerned about the underlying facts on the taping, the reasons for the judgment on the limited penalties and, most of all, on the inexplicable destruction of the tapes," said Sen. Arlen Specter, R-Pa., in a Thursday letter to NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell.

Specter, the top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said the matter could put the league's antitrust exemption at risk.

"Their antitrust exemption has been on my mind for a long time," he said in a Capitol Hill news conference.

The matter may not compare to the CIA's destruction of interrogation tapes, Specter said, but he added, "I do believe that it is a matter of importance. It's not going to displace the stimulus package or the Iraq war, but I think the integrity of football is very important, and I think the National Football League has a special duty to the American people - and further the Congress - because they have an antitrust exemption."

Let's see if I can explain it for him.

You see, football is a very competitive sport, and any coach worth a nickel is trying to gain a competitive advantage over his opponent. This often involves trying to steal the other team's signals. You'd be incompetent not to.

Coaches don't have the luxury of sitting on their asses for a living and being elected in perpetuity unlike certain U.S. senators. It's a cutthroat business.

In a Jan. 31 letter to Specter which the senator released Friday, Goodell said the tapes and notes on the investigation were destroyed to ensure that the Patriots "would not secure any possible competitive advantage as a result of the misconduct."

Specter said the explanation "absolutely makes no sense at all," and blasted the commissioner for failing to respond to his inquiries on the matter for more than two months. Goodell said in his letter that he just became aware of Specter's questions Thursday.

The league has ruled New England did not gain an advantage in this incident, and still whacked Bill Belichick with a $500,000 fine and it cost the Patriots their first-round pick (shows you how blessed they are, they have San Francisco's pick, seventh overall this year).

So Arlen, go have a sandwich, a warm saucer of milk, and basically, STFU.

On top of this, the idiot claims he won't even be watching the Super Bowl.

"I may play squash while it's on," Specter said.

H/T Radical Ron.

Hot Air links. Thanks!

Sarkozy Suspends Ties With Syria

There are a lot of American politicians who should take a cue from Nicolas Sarkozy.

France is to suspend diplomatic contacts with Syria, French President Nicolas Sarkozy has announced.

Links will be restored only when France has proof that Syria is not blocking progress towards installing a consensus president in Lebanon, Mr Sarkozy said.

Lebanon has been without a president since November, as rival pro- and anti-Syrian factions argue over who should fill the post.

"I ask Syria to... work to create agreement," said Mr Sarkozy.

France "will not make any more contacts with Syria... as long as there is no proof of Syria's willingness to let Lebanon choose a consensus president," he told reporters, during a visit to Egypt.

Speaking of American politicians, an odd pairing of useful idiots are over in Syria making nice-nice with Assad's people.

There is "a real opportunity" for Syria and Israel to resume peace talks with help from the United States, Sen. Arlen Specter said Saturday after arriving for a two-day visit.

Specter said he hoped Syria's participation in last month's Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md., was a step toward "a new beginning for real efforts" to reach a Mideast peace, including between Syria and Israel.

"I think there is a very important moment in the Middle East and there is a real opportunity if the parties are ready to move," Specter, R-Pa., told The Associated Press. "It's up to the parties. It's up to Syria and Israel, but the United States, I think, is in the position to be helpful."

Specter, a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, spoke in Damascus shortly after arriving with Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., a member of the House Appropriations Committee.

Just what we need, a RINO and a Kennedy pandering to the Syrians.

Senate Looks to Restore Rights for Terrorists

It's bad enough these morons want to give criminal aliens citizenship, but now the Senate also wants to bestow rights on the scum at Gitmo. Never in my memory has a country gone out of its way to commit suicide.

Guantanamo prisoners and other foreigners got a step closer to regaining the right to challenge their detention in the U.S. courts in a bill approved in a U.S. Senate committee on Thursday.

The Judiciary Committee voted 11-8 to send the proposal to the full Senate for debate, with Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania the lone Republican joining the Democratic majority.

Congress last year revoked the rights of foreign terrorism suspects labeled "enemy combatants" to challenge their detention by the United States. The Bush administration said it was necessary to prevent them from attacking Americans if freed.

The move affected about 380 suspected al Qaeda and Taliban captives held at the Guantanamo Bay naval base in Cuba. It could also affect 12 million legal residents of the United States who are not U.S. citizens, said the committee chairman, Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy (news, bio, voting record) of Vermont.

"I hope the Senate will reconsider the historic error in judgment," Leahy said.

Putting Leaky Leahy in the Senate, now there's a historic error in judgment.

RINOs Express Doubts Over Gonzales

Of course the New Yorks Times doesn't call them RINOs, as they prefer to mislead the public by using three Republicans who seemingly are at odds with the administration over everything, namely Chuck Hagel, Arlen Specter, and Lindsay Graham.

You have to wait until the 15th paragraph of the story to have an actual Republican defend the administration.

On Sunday, the White House found its strongest Republican defender in a onetime adversary, Senator Trent Lott of Mississippi, the Republican whip. In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Mr. Lott mocked the Democrats for charging that politics were involved in decisions involving political appointees.

“The horrors of horrors — my goodness,” Mr. Lott said. “How were they selected in the first place?”

Mr. Lott also defended Mr. Bush’s decision to invoke executive privilege in refusing to provide his aides for sworn testimony before Congress, saying “he’d be making a huge mistake” if he decided otherwise.

As noted by Gateway Pundit, CNN is just as bad, with this ridiculous headline:

Key Republicans question Gonzales' credibility

And just who are these key Republicans? Hagel, Specter and Graham.

Senate Panel OKs Subpoenas

Shameless political whores Charles Schumer and Patrick Leahy know when they have a good thing going, and they plan to milk this nonscandal for all it's worth. Schumer, in particular, is obsessed with Karl Rove, his intellectual superior, and just hates the fact he's never been able to nail him for anything.

Senate Panel OKs Subpoenas for Key Aides

A Senate panel, following the House's lead, authorized subpoenas Thursday for White House political adviser Karl Rove and other top aides involved in the firing of federal prosecutors.

The Senate Judiciary Committee decided by voice vote to approve the subpoenas as Republicans and Democrats sparred over whether to press a showdown with President Bush over the ousters of eight U.S. attorneys.

Democrats angrily rejected Bush's offer to grant a limited number of lawmakers private interviews with the aides with no transcript and without swearing them in. Republicans counseled restraint, but at least one, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa, backed the action.

A House Judiciary subcommittee authorized subpoenas in the matter Wednesday, but none has been issued.

Democrats said the move would give them more bargaining power in negotiating with the White House to hear from Bush's closest advisers.

"We're authorizing that ability but we're not issuing them," Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said of the subpoenas. "It'll only strengthen our hand in getting to the bottom of this."

Republicans countered, however, that subpoenas were premature.

"I counsel my colleagues, both Democrats and Republicans, to work hard to avoid an impasse. We don't need a constitutional confrontation," said Sen. Arlen Specter of Pennsylvania, the panel's top Republican.

Still, in the end, I think the truculent, childlike behavior by these buffoons will backfire. The White House needs to stick to their guns, however, and cannot fold under the relentless pressure from the drive-by media.