Arlen Specter

Congratulations, Sen. Arlen Specter (R/D/Whatever, Pa.)! Not every elected official loses a primary but wins his own library in a matter of months, due, in part, to the unwitting largesse of Pennsylvanians who failed to return you to a sixth term in Washington. Philadelphia University's Stephen Spinelli Jr., an authority on entrepreneurship, has been courting Specter since assuming the school presidency nearly three years ago. "As a normal part of that conversation, we had a discussion about where his stuff would go," said Spinelli, who is skilled at greasing deals ever since making his fortune as cofounder of Jiffy Lube.

ARLEN Specter lost my vote when he ran an ad against Joe Sestak's military record, especially since he never served in the military. Also, no one is owed a government job forever. Specter has been feeding at the trough long enough. Give someone else a chance. J.W. Daniels, Philadelphia Arlen "Single-bullet" Specter lost. Now the real Democrats may thank their lucky stars. Mark. A. Vare, Philadelphia

Democrats in my family had been supporting Arlen Specter since 1986, when his son Shannon organized an outreach effort at Congreso Latino. Specter's campaigns were always tight; he never took anything for granted. But when he became a Democrat, the Democratic machine got Arlen to stop being Arlen. There wasn't the outreach that was so effective that Latino Democrats would vote for a Republican. Politics is local, but Specter stopped being local, and the Democratic Party bosses should blame only one person for that.

Today's quiz salutes Arlen Specter, the state's longest-serving U.S. senator. 1. Arlen Specter is the son of immigrants. From what country did his father emigrate? a. Poland.       b. Romania.       c. Russia.       d. Lithuania. 2. In what state did Specter grow up? a. Pennsylvania.       b. New Jersey.       c. Iowa.       d. Kansas. 3. Specter shared a hometown with this onetime Republican senator and presidential candidate.

THE octogenarian didn't keep pace with the times. That's no reflection on Arlen Specter's eight decades. To the contrary, he's proven himself to be in tune with the modern era - whether it's his dress, conversance about sports, currency on the issues or awareness of technology (perhaps owing to his four granddaughters). No, in the end, it wasn't Specter's years that caught up with him, but rather the political era. The current political climate doesn't have room for an Arlen Specter.

THE MAN who authored the single-bullet theory couldn't dodge the bullet in a year of raw voter rage against incumbents, especially those with no apparent loyalty to any party other than himself. I come not to bury Arlen Specter, but to praise him, as the ultimate survivor. He could outwit, outplay, outlast almost everyone else on the island during his 30 years in the Senate. But the tribe has spoken. What do you say about a man who's as cuddly as a porcupine and the smartest kid in homeroom?

Something seems off-kilter in Philadelphia, as if a crane had taken the statue of Billy Penn from its place atop City Hall. After five decades as a towering figure in the public life of his city, state, and nation, Sen. Arlen Specter is in the strange position of counting the days until the likely end of his political career. Specter, 80, famous as an electoral Houdini, finally found himself in a tight spot he could not escape - standing for election in a year of voter hostility to Washington incumbents.

The worst thing his opponent in the Democratic primary has been able to say about Sen. Arlen Specter is that he will do whatever it takes to be reelected and continue serving the people of Pennsylvania. Twist that ambition any way you want in slick TV commercials, and it still sounds like a desirable attribute. Specter doesn't want to stop working for Pennsylvanians, and the vigor he has brought to this campaign shows he's more than ready for another term. But getting there won't be easy.