Specter greets his new party

PITTSBURGH—Senator Arlen Specter on Friday night met his new party for the first time, briefly taking the stage at the State Committee’s dinner here to accept a blue “donkey tie” from Gov. Ed Rendell and Senator Bob Casey.

Originally scheduled to address to party faithful at the Friday night dinner, Specter rescheduled his formal speech for Saturday so as not to distract from the remembrance of the late Lt. Gov. Catherine Baker Knoll.

But regardless of where he stood, the spotlight was clearly on Specter. From the moment he came in, party insiders rushed to meet and greet him. By the time Rendell was lauding him on-stage, Specter had worked most of the room.

Initially presenting the tie to Specter’s wife Joan, Rendell joked that “Joan dresses Arlen.”

Specter, accepting the tie, said he would wait to put it on until his formal speech Saturday afternoon.

“I have never liked to disrobe in public,” he said.

Specter’s appearance here came as party leaders look to line up rank-and-file members behind him, even as progressive activists remain highly skeptical of Specter as a Democratic standard-bearer. But always looming nearby was Congressman Joe Sestak (D-7), who has all but declared his candidacy against Specter. During pre-dinner cocktails, Sestak could be seen talking with Specter’s son and closest political adviser, Shanin.

“I’m trying to recuit him,” Sestak told pa2010.com with a smile.

•Also on pa2010.com:
Live-blogging the Dem State Committee dinner
Rendell says Specter’s stimulus vote ‘saved the country’
Labor leader: Specter needs to vote ‘more like other Democratic Senators’
Casey says his support for Specter is strong