Joel Mathis

Unlike Gov. Ed Rendell, I doubt very much that yesterday's rain in Philadelphia sent Arlen Specter to his defeat in the Democratic primary. And unlike a lot of other people, I'm not so sure that generalized anti-incumbent sentiment was all that big a factor either. I think that after 30 years of watching Arlen Specter put political advantage over principle at seemingly every turn, Pennsylvania voters were simply tired of the guy. It doesn't have to have a bigger meaning than that.

Dave Weigel flags these comments from Pennsylvania's senior senator: ''Well, I probably shouldn't say this,'' he said over lunch last month. ''But I have thought from time to time that I might have helped the country more if I'd stayed a Republican.'' Specter mused that perhaps if he'd remained in the caucus he could have persuaded one or two of his GOP colleagues to support health care reform. But joining the Democratic Party was never about "helping the country." It was about preserving Specter's political career . Even if staying with the GOP would've helped the country more, there's little guarantee that Specter would've stayed.