The junior Senator from PA

As the kewl kidz on the internets might say, "Iz our Democrats learning?" Arlen Specter spent the last few days basking in the spotlight after his big switch and boasting how he was going to be a Democrat in name only. He vowed to vote with the GOP on major issues and claimed he struck a deal with Reid allowing him to keep his seniority on the committees. Guess he should have waited to shoot off his mouth until after they voted. In an unexpected move, the Senate seated him on the committees alright, giving themselves even more of a presence, but designated him as nearly the most junior member on all of them. They say they'll revisit the seniority issue after the 2010 mid-terms.

Reid himself read the resolution into the record to underscore the point. Ha! It appears the Democrats are finally learning to play this game. It suddenly looks like a brilliant move to have taken Specter into the party. They now have leverage to get his vote and if he doesn't play nice -- well -- that's what primaries are for.

[More posts daily at The Detroit News]