Arlen Specter Is a Freshman All Over Again

Have you ever seen an 80-year-old Senator with acne, a cracking voice and an unrequited crush on the cheerleading captain?

Well neither have we, but perhaps that day is coming, because Sen. Arlen Specter (R D-PA) is a freshman all over again!

What this really means is that in exchange for his "get out of jail free" card in the Pennsylvania Republican primary, Specter gets bumped to the back of the line on every Senate committee, thus rendering him a veritable freshman.

The Senate last night stripped Specter of his seniority on committees, a week after the 29-year veteran of the chamber quit the Republican Party to join the Democrats. On a voice vote, the Senate approved a resolution that made Specter the most junior Democrat on four committees for the remainder of this Congress. (He will rank second from last on the fifth, the Special Committee on Aging.)

It's nice to know that Specter's colleagues bumped him up a notch on that last committee, given his expertise on the subject.

With no leadership roles to consume him, Specter can now turn his attention toward traditional freshman duties -- namely getting lost trying to find his office and enduring wedgies from notorious Senate bullies Barbara Mikulski (D-MD) and "Big Bad" John Cornyn (R-Texas).