Predictable: White House Runs Away, Throws Specter Under Bus

It's a tight election in Pennsylvania as Specter battles it out with Sestak. Will they even remember poor Arlen's name come Wednesday morning? Meanwhile, the last time Obama appeared to campaign with Specter was in... September 2009. Oh dear. And Biden could have made a last minute appearance for the senator on Sunday if he so desired, they were in the same town for crying out loud, but even Biden had the sense to run away from this dead duck. Most polls show that even if Specter wins the primary, he's duck soup in the general election come November. Clearly, it's time to distance yourself if you're Obama.


From the Pittsburgh-Tribune Review:

The White House is seeking to distance President Barack Obama from longtime Pennsylvania Sen. Arlen Specter as the Democrat faces shaky election prospects in Tuesday's Pennsylvania primary.

On the eve of the election, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said that while the president was following the Pennsylvania race — as well as primaries in Arkansas and Kentucky — he wasn't watching that closely.

That's a far cry from a year ago, when Obama said Specter would have his "full support" after the Republican lawmaker switched to the Democratic party. The president appeared with Specter at a rally in Pennsylvania in September, telling the crowd that Specter came to Washington "to fight for the working men and women of Pennsylvania."

That rally would be the last time Obama would make a personal appearance for Specter's campaign. Though there were reports that Specter aides asked Obama to make an 11th-hour trip to Pennsylvania, the White House made it clear last week that wouldn't be happening.

Obama aides had been hoping to avoid a repeat of the Massachusetts Senate race earlier this year, when Obama made a last minute trip to campaign for Democrat Martha Coakley, who would go on to lose the seat by Sen. Edward Kennedy.

With these kind of friends, who needs enemies? Poor Specter should have expected as much from a president who wasn't ashamed to throw his grandmother and spiritual mentor for 20 years under the bus. Is it too late to switch parties again and make Obama's year hell by filibustering Kagan, not to mention holding up cap-and-tax legislation? What's payback for um, not getting paid back?

Finally, I leave you with this video which sums up the White House political strategy quite clearly.

UPDATE: Fox News is calling the race for Sestak. Epic fail.