Spector laments political extremism

The Republican senator said the end of centrism has turned off voters. U.S. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) shared political wit and wisdom with nearly 150 students, faculty and community members last night in Steinberg-Dietrich Hall. Specter, a 1951 University graduate, returned to his alma mater as the first speaker in an annual series of public policy lectures sponsored by the Gruss Public Management Fellowship Program. "Specter is not only smart, but he can stimulate discussion on controversial issues," Public Policy and Management Chairperson Janet Rothenberg Pack said. Pack asked David Morse, an associate vice president who lobbies Congress for the University, to contact Specter about speaking at Penn. Noting that the Gruss program hadn't hosted an elected official in its three-year existence, Pack said she wanted Specter not only because of his connection to the University, but also because of his performance in the 1987 Robert Bork Supreme Court confirmation hearings. "Because he was Philadelphia's attorney general, he had a prosecutor's way of asking questions [during the hearings]," Pack said. "And even though he is a Republican, his questioning was masterful and non-partisan." Specter attempted to show he hadn't moved far from this non-partisan philosophy with a speech entitled "The Disintegration of American Political Center." After a brief introduction by Pack, Specter -- fresh back from a diplomatic trip to Syria and Israel -- immediately addressed the issue that has become a hot topic since the recent elections. Noting that both parties moved away from the political center in the past three election cycles, the senator touched on his desire to become president. "You may not have heard about it, but I ran for president in 1995," Specter said. "I was amazed by the political process, and I thought that somebody ought to represent the political center." Elaborating on the demise of centrism, Specter said the loss of several moderate senators in November's election contributed to America's disillusionment with politics and therefore a decline in voting. This drop, he said, has allowed those at the political extremes to dominate the picture. But Specter quickly departed from his planned topic, choosing instead to discuss the Supreme Court's decision to include monetary issues within freedom of speech and the related need for campaign finance reform. "There will be an investigation conducted by the Government Operations Committee so we don't have people from Indonesia buying a part of the White House," Specter said. "Don't be surprised if you see an amendment to the First Amendment." After briefly addressing internal problems in the FBI and CIA, Specter used the remaining hour to field questions from the audience. In this setting, the senator talked about a wide variety of issues, including health care, the role of the United States in the Middle East and alleged Iranian terrorism, and last summer's Defense of Marriage Act, which he voted against. While Pack said he believed that Specter held a "terrific question and answer session," attendees had a mixed reaction to Specter's speech. "I appreciate the fact that a Republican in leadership understands the value of the center," College junior Jason Wrigley said. Others, however, complained that Specter did not address the topic at hand, and came across not as a centrist but as a booster for the Republican Party.

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