There will be a debate on April 11 for everyone who is vying for the Senate seat currently held by Senator Arlen Specter (D-Pennsylvania). Well, everyone except Senator Arlen Specter. Candidates Joe Sestak (D) and Pat Toomey (R) have agreed to discuss economic issues at La Salle University while Senator Specter prefers to take on China.

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The senator will debate his Democratic primary challenger (Sestak) on May 1 but has declined all other debate invitations. Instead, he seems to prefer giving pithy and toothless sound bytes to the media. At a recent public meeting in Washington he said of China, "They take our markets and take our jobs." (source) Nothing like a little xenophobia and fear mongering to draw attention away from his party's dismal record during their year in total power.

Senator Specter, who became a Democrat almost a year ago after decades as a Republican, needs Pennsylvanians to look anywhere but at him and the Obama administration policies he supports if he has any hope of retaining his seat in November.

According to the latest poll, Mr. Toomey leads the senator by 6 points (42% to 36%) among likely voters (source) but Mr. Specter's plan is to keep his fading political career hitched to President Obama's failing one. He appeared with the president in Glenside, Pennsylvania last week as Mr. Obama delivered yet another stump speech on his version of health care reform. In an interview after the speech, the senator was asked if the president planned to campaign for him. His response: "I think he will. We haven't planned specific dates, but he's been very helpful." (source)

That should tell the voters what they need to know as much as anything the cowardly senator might have said in next month's debate.