You know how it always seems to rain right after you wash your car? Well Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania) seems to have parked his recently refurbished political career under an old oak tree full of well fed birds. After 44 years as an elected Republican, the five term senator switched parties in 2008 hoping to ride the Obama wave but finding himself being dragged under it instead.

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Like many unfortunate Democrats, Senator Specter is up for re-election this November and the latest poll shows him trailing Republican Pat Toomey by 14 points (45% to 31%). Only 34 percent of Pennsylvanians give Specter a favorable job approval rating, with 58 percent saying he is doing a "fair" or "poor" job as senator. (source)

Certainly some of this bad news for Mr. Specter is part of the national discontent with incumbents in general and Democrats (no matter how freshly minted) in particular. But give credit where it's due - the senator has done a fine job of contributing to his own political demise. Last week on a Philadelphia talk show, Senator Specter and Representative Michele Bachmann (R-Minnesota) were sparring over Obamacare in typical left vs. right fashion when the senator exclaimed "I'm going to treat you like a lady. Now act like one!" After reaction from all sides calling the remark everything from patronizing to demeaning to sexist, the senator called Ms. Bachmann to apologize several days later. (source)

Meanwhile over at Camp Toomey, Communications Director Nachama Soloveichik said, "Contributors and volunteers are joining the Toomey campaign by the tens of thousands because they agree with Pat's message of limited government, fiscal responsibility and economic growth." (source)

Of course there's plenty of time before Election Day and President Obama has promised to campaign for Senator Specter no matter what this fall. (source) We all know how much that helped Candidates Corzine, Deeds and Coakley.